


The Sand Meets The Light

by FinaTeh



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:56:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29869494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinaTeh/pseuds/FinaTeh
Summary: Gaara and his siblings meets a potential new alliance with a strange village as Gaara makes a connection with their leader, Yukari.
Relationships: Gaara (Naruto)/Original Female Character(s), Kankurou (Naruto)/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	1. Tumble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sand Siblings were travelling up north when they encounter trouble that lands them down a hole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I initially just wanted to create the story with just Gaara in mind since he's my favorite character, but I do like all three Sand Siblings, so I wanted to explore their relationship as siblings too. Enjoy the story!

“ _It’s going to rain, huh?”_ Gaara thought as he stared above, watching the dark clouds looming above them. His slow footsteps crackled on the dirt and leaves as he walked in this territory surrounded by nothing but a sparse forest and a slight fog hanging about.

The Kazekage was travelling with his usual companions, his older siblings; his sister Temari and brother, Kankuro up to the Northern part of the Land of the Wind to uncharted territories, unknown and unmarked on the map. This wasn’t an area he was used to be in. Usually he’d be visiting east where The Leaf Village was, in the Land of Fire. That’s where most of his friends were.

“Not much of a vacation, isn’t it?” Kankuro remarked, putting his hand behind his head, feeling relaxed but bored as he fought off a yawn.

“You’d think after the war, things would look a little less… depressing,” Temari commented, looking around with a frown.

“We’re not here on a break,” Gaara turned to them. “We’re here to scout new territories and maybe find a new village or two that we don’t know about yet.”

“The war is over,” Kankuro replied, obviously not comprehending his decision. “And besides, you should be focusing on looking after the village, not travelling for information. You could have sent people to do this.”

“I told you two to take over while I’m away but you insisted on tagging along,” Gaara pointed out, feeling annoyed. Temari wrapped her arm around him affectionately, with a smug look on her face.

“We can’t let our little brother travel alone, could we? And besides, it’s a chance for us to get away for a while. All that sand could really get into our brains,” Temari joked. Kankuro laughed in amusement.

“And this is exciting. Meeting new people, seeing new places,” Kankuro said with an energetic tone. Gaara narrowed his eyes at his siblings, sceptical of their intentions but he brushed it off. At least they were good company to keep around and reliable ninjas, though they could be a little annoying at times. But anything was better than their relationships many years ago so he’d take what he can get.  
  


After thirty minutes passed, they stumbled upon a huge rocky canyon. Looking upwards, it had to be at least a hundred feet high. There was a passage they could walk through, but it screamed of an ambush waiting to happen. Kankuro brought out his map and scratched his head.

“I think we’re lost,” he remarked, confused. Feeling irritated, Temari slapped the back of his head.

“You were supposed to keep track of where we were,” she snapped. Kankuro frowned.

“Well then, let me do my job!” he raised his voice as he studied the map, both Gaara and Temari waiting for any feedback from him. After a minute, he showed the map to his siblings.

“Okay, so we were here before. I recognized the area,” he pointed to a part of the map. “So if we just turn back right now, we could just go home.”

“What’s wrong with going through here?” Temari asked.

“Do you see the valley of death?” Kankuro gestured with his hands towards the canyon frantically. “And I have no idea where it goes to. That part of the map is not drawn here.”

“Why don’t we just continue on until we find a village or at least encounter some people? That’s the point of this expedition, isn’t it, Gaara?” Temari turned to Gaara, followed by Kankuro. Gaara stared at the canyon, thinking hard. After a few seconds, he turned to them.

“Temari’s right. We’ll keep walking,” he made his choice. Temari with a cocky expression scoffed at Kankuro, who groaned in frustration.

The three of them carefully walked through, observing their surroundings. The canyon were made of rocks, grey and slightly brown in colour all over and some grass here and there, but there was nothing much in it. It seemed to be going on for so long too when they travelled along through it.

All of a sudden, Kankuro noticed sounds coming from above the canyons. He looked up and saw a couple of movements. Black figures were crawling all around but he couldn’t see what they actually were.

“Guys,” he whispered. Temari and Gaara stopped, noticing that Kankuro was looking up above. They followed his gaze and were alerted by the incoming danger.

A huge bug-like creature was crawling down the side of the canyon, followed by many others, all around them. They looked like huge crickets, but more sinister-looking and larger, almost the same size as regular humans. The Sand Siblings prepared to defend themselves, taking out their weapons.

A bug nearby suddenly jumped towards them, opening its mouth to grab them. Temari blasted it away with her wind by swinging her fan and the bug was sent smacking against the rocks. However the other bugs started to crawl down the valley all over them and swarm them. The Sand Siblings looked around, panic starting to rise, until Gaara lifted his hands up and activated his Sand ability.

The entire canyon was shaking and the granules of sand were lifted from the surface of the rocks and ground everywhere as Gaara moved the sand around him and his siblings and proceeded to push the bugs off by force with the sand. The bugs were successfully thrown off but the ground below them suddenly started to crack, revealing a hole underneath.

“Gaara!” Temari called out to her brother to do something.

They all started to fall down as the ground below them was completely broken off. Gaara moved some sand below as an attempt to lift them up, but before he could form a completely solid platform, a piece of rock hit his head and knocked him out. In the end, all three of them fell below, but before they hit the ground, Temari used her fan to glide them all down safely.

“Thanks, Temari,” Kankuro told her as he brushed off some small rocks and pebbles off of his shoulders, as he was holding and supporting his unconscious brother with his other hand.

Temari and Kankuro looked above. It was a high way up if they wanted to climb and they saw the bugs crawling all over the opening above, covering over almost any light that could come in. With Gaara injured, they couldn’t make it out on their own. Kankuro stood up and supported Gaara, wrapping his arm around his neck.

“We have to find a way out,” Kankuro told his sister.

“Not with those things up there,” Temari replied with her hands on her hips. She surveyed the hole they were in and noticed a path going out of the hole. It seemed that this hole was manmade and people have created a route, a tunnel of sort branching off the cavern area. “Come on, there’s a tunnel over there. Maybe we can find another way.”


	2. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sand Siblings encounter strangers underneath the ground, who led them to another place.

The Sand Siblings were walking through the tunnel that was discovered. Temari looked around and analysed the tunnel’s design. It was carefully dug and structured, with little lamps placed along the walls, lighting their paths so it wasn’t completely dark. The strange thing was, the lamps weren’t lit by fire, but little light balls made of chakra energy. Gaara eventually regained his consciousness and noticed they were on the move.

“Where… are we?” He asked weakly.

“We’re in a tunnel underground. The way we came from was crawling with those things so we have to find another way out,” Kankuro explained, keeping his stare to the road ahead.

“I could… make a way out,” Gaara responded, groaning in pain but still had some determination in his voice. He winced every time he took a step with his right foot. Kankuro noticed his brother’s pain and felt worried. 

“Temari, let’s take a break,” he called out to Temari who was walking up ahead as he put Gaara down and settled him against the wall. Temari stopped and walked back towards her brothers. She crouched down next to Gaara and examined his feet, which seemed to be sprained.

“We should have Gaara make a path for us to the surface and get us out,” Kankuro suggested to her. She gave him a disapproving look.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, especially after what had just happened. The grounds just collapsed and we don’t want to risk that again,” Temari argued, pointing above them. Her brothers became quiet, silently agreeing with her point but at the same time, they were frustrated.

Temari and Kankuro suddenly sensed some presence approaching them and stood up quickly, bracing themselves against whatever or whoever was coming as they hovered near their brother, intending to protect him since he was injured. Gradually, they saw two people walking up towards them from afar in the tunnel.

An adult man came into sight, presumably in his mid-thirties, with medium length blonde hair with bangs covering the side of his eyes and wearing a light beige coat over a worn jumpsuit and was holding a strange weapon, with his fingers on a handle attached to it. Strangely, there were wires connecting his wrist to the weapon, as if the weapon was a part of his body.

And the other one was a tall muscular woman, with a light brown hair in a high ponytail wearing a slightly revealing kunoichi outfit. Her face had red curvy markings on both of her cheeks and she showed off her strangely sharp teeth with a sinister smile. She licked the blade of the kunai she was holding, covering it completely with a thick layer of saliva and twirled the weapon around her finger.

They stopped right in front of them, seemingly with the intention to threaten them. They didn’t really point their weapons at them, but they were definitely holding them tightly in their hands. Both of them did not say a word, but they glanced behind them, as another presence approached them.

It was smaller than the other two, but somehow all three siblings sensed a heavy dense chakra from it. As it came into visibility, it was revealed to be a young girl, seemingly a similar age to Gaara, with mostly black hair but with just a white streak of hair by her face in a hairpin and tucked behind her ear. She was wearing a similar outfit to the man, a black jumpsuit, closed shoes and a long coat with the sleeves folded on both arms. There seemed to be a sword with the sheath on her back with strap across her body.

She looked at the Sand Siblings with a neutral expression. Her hand reached behind and unsheathed her sword, the blade glowing with chakra energy. She stopped her tracks at where her subordinates were, swinging her sword with her wrist and shortly after, pointing it towards the Sand Siblings.

“What are you doing here?” The girl asked. Her voice sounded young but she had a commanding tone. The Sand Siblings hesitated to answer for a moment, but Kankuro spoke out a moment later.

“We accidentally fell down here,” he answered, feeling slightly nervous but maintained his cool.

“How did you get here?” the man asked, sounding serious and monotonous.

“The grounds were shaking and it opened a hole below where we fell down,” Gaara answered.

“That would explain the vibrations we felt,” the man told the other two. He glanced at Gaara, maintaining his serious façade but there was a hint of concern as he noticed that he remained down on the ground.

“What’s wrong with him?” He turned to his older siblings and asked.

“He’s injured from the fall,” she answered. The three strangers looked at each other, as if having a silent conversation with each other. The girl turned to them.

“Where are you from?” She asked.

“The Sand Village, from the south,” Temari replied and pointed to her brothers. “I’m Temari. These are my younger brothers, Kankuro and Gaara.” The girl looked over with a puzzled expression towards Gaara who returned the look.

“Gaa…ra?” She seemed to be mouthing the name, hesitant to say it. The woman laughed, twirling her kunai playfully around her finger.

“That’s a weird ass name,” she remarked, feeling amused.

“Shhh,” the girl shushed her with a sharp look. The woman stopped talking as she put away her weapon, but she maintained the same arrogant look on her face. The girl sheathed her sword and took a few moments to look at each of the Sand Siblings carefully, as if studying them.

“Come,” the girl instructed them, turning back to the direction they came from and started walking away. The man put away his weapon as well and nodded, reassuring that it was alright. The woman wasn’t as friendly and pushed Kankuro by his shoulder.

“Go on, move it,” she told them loudly, as Kankuro fetched Gaara from the ground, feeling annoyed by her treatment. They slowly followed the girl with Temari right after, keeping her eyes on the woman who waited until they were a distance away to start moving herself.

……….

They had walked for about fifteen minutes, still in the maze of tunnels lit with the strange lamps. The Sand Siblings walked together, with the man right beside them escorting them while the girl was up ahead leading the way, and the woman was at the far back, keeping watch on the siblings from behind. There seemed to be no ends to the tunnels.

“How much longer?” Kankuro asked the man as he looked over to him.

“It’s just up ahead,” the man replied without moving his gaze from the path right ahead.

“We seemed to be going lower into the ground rather going up to the surface,” Kankuro remarked, feeling a little anxiety crawling inside him. The man glanced at him, seemingly trying to think of what to answer.

“Our village is underground,” he answered nonchalantly a moment later. Kankuro and Temari looked at each other with quizzical expressions.

“There’s a village underground?” Kankuro asked with disbelief in his voice. Gaara on the other hand didn’t seem to care and was more distracted by the girl in front.

“If you don’t mind me asking, is she the leader of your team?” He asked without hesitation towards the man, who seemed surprised at Gaara’s intuition. A loud voice spoke out from behind them.

“You’re pretty smart, eyeliner boy!” Makoto yelled out to them with a snarky tone. The man looked back at her and rolled his eyes, unamused. The Sand Siblings wondered how she could have heard them since she was quite far at the back and they were keeping their voices low.

“We’re here,” the girl announced before anyone could say anything else.

The Sand Siblings entered the entrance to a huge cavern area which seemed to be housing an entire community and village, similar to the Leaf Village but smaller in size. The whole place was lit by the lamps all over, and there were a couple of street lamps along the paths where the villagers would walk as well. Without any visibility of the sky, it felt like night was a permanent time of the day here. They also noticed a lot of openings all over cave, seemingly air holes leading up to the surface.

They arrived to a larger building, bigger than the ordinary houses for the villagers. It seemed to be a medical facility or some sort. They walked inside and there was a registration with a worker running the desk. She looked up, surprised by the presence of many people and immediately stood up. The girl walked over and leaned on the desk.

“This boy is injured and he needs medical attention,” she told them in an authoritative manner. The worker took a look at the Sand Siblings, perplexed at their presence, but nevertheless she nodded in abidance.

“Yes, ma’am,” one of them replied. The Sand Siblings were surprised at how respectful the worker was to the girl. The worker approached the three siblings and gestured to them to follow her.


	3. Underground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Gaara was treated, the Sand Siblings formally meets the Light Villagers.

An hour had passed. Gaara was placed in a private room, where he was being treated. Thankfully, he didn’t sustain any serious injuries. Just minor trauma to his head, some cuts on his face and a sprained ankle. Even then, thanks to the medical workers, who happened to know medical ninjutsu, his wounds were nearly all healed up. He was required to rest for the night for a complete recovery, so they advised him to stay in for one more day.

Temari and Kankuro were hanging around in the room, keeping their little brother company as he sat in his bed. Kankuro was resting against the armchair near the window, taking in the scenery of the village outside while Temari was by the bedside, crossing her arms as she looked out the room’s opened door.

“For an underground village, this doesn’t seem like a dump,” Kankuro remarked bluntly.

“We owe these people for helping us. Have some manners,” Temari snapped, annoyed at his brother’s attitude.

“We don’t even know them,” Kankuro straightened up and leaned forward in his seat. “Stay on guard.”

“Relax, will you?” Temari responded, tired of her brother.

“If you’re so calm, why do you keep looking at the door?” Kankuro retorted, with a sly smile on his face. Temari felt irritated, but he was right. She was naturally watching out for any threats, even if they did seem safe here.

“In any case, they haven’t posed any danger to us. And the only time they did, they had the right to do so,” Gaara suddenly voiced out, which prompted both his older siblings to silence themselves, feeling slight shame. And as if right on cue, the man and woman from earlier appeared, knocking on the door.

“May we come in?” the man asked, in his usual serious voice, but it sounded more polite than before. The woman looked like she couldn’t care less as if she was forced to tag along. Temari nodded and they both walked in.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” the man apologized. “We were on patrol and we couldn’t take any chances.” Temari looked to Kankuro with a smug look, who returned her glance with an irritated expression.

“I understand. We would have done the same in our own village,” Temari replied with a smile on her face.

“My name is Kei. I’m the official advisor and mentor for our village leader,” he introduced himself and looked to the woman at his side. He coughed, prompting her to continue on their introduction. She turned to him with a defensive look and glanced at the siblings. She sighed, giving in.

“Makoto,” she stated her name, uninterested. “Always a pleasure to meet new blood.” She cracked a toothy smile, showing her fangs. Kei grunted at her, as if asking her to shut up.

“I’m sorry… Your village leader?” Gaara asked. Makoto and Kei looked to their sides, as if searching for something. Makoto turned back towards the door.

“Oh sorry, I thought she’s here,” Makoto replied jokingly. “Come on in!” She called out to the door and the girl from earlier peeked out carefully. She had worry and anxiety written all over her face and wouldn’t walk in, just lingering outside the door.

Makoto rolled her eyes walked over to the door and dragged her inside until she stood in front of the Sand Siblings, who seemed confused and just stared at her the whole time. The girl seemed stiff and nervous.

“THIS is our village leader,” Makoto said with some pride in her voice and her face.

But the girl’s reaction was a contrast, as she seemed shy and timid when stood in front of them in a casual setting. This was a different presence than earlier when she confronted them in the tunnels.

“Go on,” Makoto told the girl with a softer voice. The girl shifted her eyes between all three siblings, hesitant to speak out.

“I’m… Yukari,” she said with a small voice, keeping her eyes on the ground. “You can call me Yuka,” she practically went into a whisper. The older siblings just looked at her with raised eyebrows, wondering if this was a different person and they were just trying to prank them.

“Nice to meet you,” Gaara told her with a small smile on his face after an awkward silence hung in the air. Yukari looked up to him, wanting to say something but she decided to back away.

“Please excuse me!” she said with a shaky voice as she took a few steps to walk back towards the door. But Makoto grabbed her arm and dragged her back, wrapping her arm around her before she could escape.

“Say, Yuka,” Makoto said. “I was thinking, me and Kei can show these two around the village. Why don’t you keep this guy company?” She pointed to Gaara and went closer to Yukari’s ears to whisper. “You know, make a friend your own age.”

Yukari turned to Makoto with a mixture of an offended and baffled look on her face, then looked at Gaara nervously. She struggled out of Makoto’s grasp and paced out the door quickly, leaving Makoto and Kei to stare after her in confusion. They both turned back to the siblings.

“Sorry. She has trouble… socializing. We’ve been trying to work on that,” Kei explained, scratching his head.

“Come on, Kei,” Makoto turned to Kei. “Let’s go give a tour.”

“Makoto, don’t just rush into deciding-” Before Kei could continue, Makoto cut him off.

“You haven’t had dinner yet, right?” She looked over to Temari and Kankuro. “Let’s go, guys. Since you are CURIOUS about us, you might as well get a first-hand look. Your brother’s in good hands.” She walked out the door, with Kei walking after her. He stopped by the door and turned to the siblings.

“I apologize. Meet us outside,” he informed them before leaving. Temari and Kankuro looked at each other, shrugged and walked towards the door. Gaara suddenly realized what just happened.

“Oi! Temari, Kankuro!” Gaara called out and reached out with his hand, seemingly wanting to stop them before they stepped out the door.

“I am kind of hungry,” Kankuro muttered as he walked off. Temari turned to her brother with an apologetic look.

“We’ll be back soon. Rest up, little brother,” she reassured him and disappeared too, leaving Gaara feeling annoyed as he was being left alone in his room.


	4. Making New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara talks to Yukari, his Light Village counterpart.

Gaara laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering what to do after his siblings left him. He didn’t know what time of the day it was seeing as they were underground and the sky couldn’t be seen, but if he had to estimate since the time they left the surface, it was probably early at night. The medical workers were just cleaning up their things after checking up on Gaara and sending his meal. As they were finishing up, there was a knock on the door. Gaara turned his head on the pillow and sat up slowly when he saw it was Yukari.

“May I come in?” She asked. This time, she seemed calmer and steadier with her words.

“Yes, ma’am. We were just about to leave,” both of the workers quickly made a move.

Yukari walked in, passing by as she glanced at them and they nodded to her in respect. She approached Gaara and sat on the chair that Temari was sitting on before, her face showing a neutral expression, but obviously less frantic than before. She remained quiet for a few seconds, leaving Gaara to hesitate whether he should talk first.

“Sorry about earlier,” Yukari broke the silence and apologized, staring down at the floor. Her expression was unreadable, but Gaara noticed that her eyebrows naturally was curved to look sad most of the time. “I get nervous around new people.”

”What about when we first met?” Gaara asked.

“I was doing my job. Talking about… things is really hard,” she answered with a smile, still keeping her gaze down.

“You don’t seem to struggle right now,” Gaara’s answer prompted her to look up, wondering if it was a jab or just a genuine observation. His strange yet pure face seemed to have a comforting look, so she didn’t take it as an offense.

“It’s easier with one person than a group. Less eyes to judge you,” she replied, fidgeting with her hands. “Even so, it’s still hard. But I’m trying.” Gaara somehow felt her words resonated with something in him and he couldn’t help but empathize.

“I understand how you feel,” he said in a low voice as he stared in front. Yuka looked at him, trying to read his emotion. He turned to her.

“So you’re the leader of this village?” He asked.

“Oh… yes… Not on purpose, but I had to do it,” she replied. Some of her wordings were strange to Gaara, but he brushed it off.

“I’m the leader of my village too,” he responded. Yukari was surprised at this information.

“Really? How old are you?” She asked with both curiosity and amazement.

“Seventeen,” Gaara replied. Yukari looked as if she was containing some kind of excitement.

“I’m sixteen,” she responded with a wide smile. Gaara stared back at her, eventually returning her smile.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” he asked. “What is the name of this village?”

“The Light Village,” she replied.

“Why is it underground?” He continued asking.

“A group of council men that helps me run this village advised me to keep this place hidden for the protection and safety of the villagers,” Yukari answered half-heartedly, as if the answer was something she memorized.

“Protection? From what?”

“From people who would harm us,” she answered uncertainly, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

“Like us?” Gaara asked again, with a knowing look in his eyes. Yukari felt like he was trying to pry into private information and she didn’t like that.

“No, other outsiders who might want something,” she fired back.

“What could they want from this place?”

“I don’t know,” Yukari’s voice raised slightly, slight panic could be heard. Gaara felt he had to tone it down after seeing her response. “That’s what the council told me. I’m just here to protect everyone.”

“Protect?” He inquired, puzzled. Yukari widened her eyes, with mixed feelings whether she should say anything else. But she sighed.

“I was… tasked to lead the village and keep it safe,” she mentioned, with a sad look for some reason. “I don’t know why, but I didn’t ask much and just did what I have to do.” Gaara did not know whether to continue asking for information, but he suddenly remembered what he was travelling for.

“Actually, my siblings and I are travelling to scout for new territories and find a new village that we haven’t made in contact yet… Before we fell down,” he explained. “Stumbling upon your village seems to be a perfect opportunity.”

“What do you mean?” Yuka tilted her head slightly, puzzled with whatever Gaara was leading with this.

“Would you like to form an alliance with The Sand Village? It would create a new connection for your village, in case you ever need something that you might not have, like protection or anything else,” he explained. Yukari looked bewildered at the sudden flurry of exposition, but she took a deep breath and calmly thought of a response.

“I don’t really know. I’d probably have to talk with the council first. Maybe you and your siblings can meet them with us tomorrow morning. If that’s alright with you,” she suggested, feeling a bit positive at the offer but keeping it cool.

“What do you want?” Gaara asked. Yukari seemed taken aback from the question, as if no one had ever asked her that before. Her eyes shifting around down on the ground as she thought of an answer.

“People here are maybe content with what they have, but I know they’re becoming more and more curious about the world above, especially the younger ones. I can see some of them getting more and more restless here,” she slowly answered. She smiled warmly. “Maybe it would be good for us. Just to know about people other than our own.” A frown slowly crept back. “But the council is stubborn.”

Gaara hesitated to go any further with his proposal. But he understood more about Yukari’s feelings about her village and herself. He looked away, wondering if he should continue any further.

“So what’s it like to be the leader of your village?” Before he could think of anything, it was Yukari’s turn to ask him a question, as she rested her elbow on the side table and leaned in curiously. Gaara turned to her, pondering in his mind about what he should describe.

“I didn’t really expect to become the leader of my village either. It just sort of… happened. But my father,” Gaara paused, with a heavy expression resting on his face as he thought of the matter. “He was the former leader, so I felt a lot of pressure on taking the responsibilities. It has its difficulties.” Yukari remained quiet and kept her gaze on him, as if wanting him to say more. “It was hard to gain their trust… because of what I did.” This piqued Yukari’s interest, as she straightened up.

“What did you do?” She asked with curiosity. Gaara realized he spoke too much and frowned, looking away.

“It was a long time ago,” his answer was an obvious hint that he didn’t want to speak about it. Yukari sensed his troubled emotions and decided not to pursue any further. Her eyes fell down, wondering what else she could ask.

“So how long have you worked together with your… friends?” Gaara asked with an uncertainty on the last word. Upon hearing him, Yukari let out a sound that sounded like the start of a laughter, covering her mouth as she couldn’t hold back her smile.

“Kei was assigned as my mentor and advisor since I was really young, so he trained me in combat and just guide me overall in making decisions. Makoto on the other hand…” she trailed off, looking to the side, unsure of whether to disclose information. “She’s… more of a fighter. So I let her be my right hand person in combat. The three of us just became a team since she joined.”

“She seemed to be close to you,” Gaara pointed out, amused. Yukari rolled her eyes and sulked, feeling annoyed when he mentioned it.

“She’s too wild,” Yukari muttered under breath, with no hint of sarcasm, which made Gaara curious whether it was a joke or genuine concern. “I never knew who my parents were. So when she came into my life, she strangely took over this parental role to me. I don’t really know why, but… I just let her be,” she paused, trying to think what to say further. Gradually, she smiled, thinking about something. “It’s nice, I suppose, after never having a mom or dad.”

Those words rang a familiar tune within Gaara. Perhaps her life wasn’t as full of darkness as his was, but in a way, he could understand what she went through. Her speaking of Makoto reminded him of Temari and Kankuro, whom he just remembered went out and left him alone, so that ruined the moment. He smirked with a scoff.

“I feel the same about my siblings. They always tried to be there for me after… everything, even though they can be a pain,” he said that last part under his breath. Yukari caught what he said though and let out a giggle. Gaara stared back at her, feeling comforted over the fact that he could make her feel happy. He wanted to join her laughter but he just smiled.

“Oh yeah,” Yukari said as if she was reminded of something she had forgotten. She dug into her pocket and put something on the bed. It was a small box, containing a deck of cards. Gaara was surprised and confused at the sight, glancing at Yukari.

“It’s a card game that they sold above. Me, Kei and Makoto play it all the time when we take breaks on our patrols in the tunnels,” Yukari explained. Gaara still seemed puzzled and continued to stare in silence. Yukari noticed his reaction and grinned sheepishly, slowly taking out the cards from the box.

“Makoto told me to make friends,” she said in a shy manner. “Since she asked me to keep you company… is it okay if we play? I’ll teach you,” she asked, shuffling the cards in her hands. Gaara felt surprised by her innocent request, but he found himself smiling in amusement and nodded.


	5. Crossing Paths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Temari and Kankuro are out and about in the village with the other Light Villagers, chatting up about the village.

Temari, Kankuro, Kei and Makoto were walking out of a ramen shop after having their meals. After a whole day of exhaustion, it was good to fill their stomachs with some food. They walked past a stream of water, almost like a river, flowing through the village, with bridges built to cross along the water. As they walked over a bridge, Kankuro looked around in amazement.

“I’m impressed this place can run well under the circumstances. Food’s not that bad either,” Kankuro commented.

“You’d be surprised, face paint,” Makoto responded with a blasé tone. Kankuro glared at her, annoyed at being nicknamed.

“You’re one to talk,” he replied, referring to her face markings which she had as well.

“Hey, at least these are permanent. Much better than this stuff on your face anyway,” she responded while wiping away some of the paint on Kankuro’s face with a finger, to which he brushed her off aggressively.

“Hey, stop that!” He snapped, irritated. Makoto just laughed in amusement, which angered Kankuro even more. But she ignored his reaction and wrapped her arm around him. For some reason, this made him blush, much to his embarrassment.

“You’re a funny guy,” she remarked with a low voice near his face. Somehow it felt both flirtatious and threatening to Kankuro, and he gulped in fear. She turned to Kei and Temari at their back. “Hey, we’re gonna go drinking. Wanna come along?”

“Wait, what?” Kankuro yelled, wondering what the heck Makoto was doing but couldn’t find the words to reject her offer.

“Makoto,” Kei practically groaned. He shook his head, rolling his eyes and sighing in defeat. “You know what, go ahead. I’m heading back to the hospital.” Makoto nodded and snorted a laughter, as she dragged poor Kankuro away after crossing the bridge. Temari stared after them as Kei walked the opposite direction from them. He stopped in his tracks and noticed that she looked a little concerned.

“Don’t worry, she’s unpredictable… but harmless. For the most part,” he reassured her. Temari didn’t feel any better from his words, but she had to take it for what it is and shrugged it off, following Kei.

“My brother does have a point,” Temari said as she walked side by side with Kei. “A place operating underground would struggle to run, at least more than a regular village on the surface.”

“Over the years we found a way to function. The council send officers to acquire supplies once a week. For a small village like this, it would be enough,” Kei explained. “There’s a water pool that provides us with water supply. As you can see from the holes everywhere, there’s ventilation. We grow what we can at a fertile spot in the cave. Some villagers like to go there for some sunlight as well. They’re allowed to go to the surface, but only within a perimeter. Only those who are authorized can travel beyond to get supplies like food, medicine, and others.”

“How long have you been living here?” She asked.

“My whole life,” Kei answered.

“Honestly?” Temari remarked, feeling sceptical.

“Do you think it’s impossible?” Kei responded. Temari realized that he sounded a little defensive.

“No, it’s just interesting, that’s all,” she answered, avoiding any conflict. “I’ve been wondering, how long has this village existed?”

“From what I know, over a hundred years,” Kei answered. “I don’t know much about the other places on the surface, only from what I read from the collection of books and documents in the library. Although, I have heard of your Sand Village.”

“Have you ever went to the surface?” Temari inquired once more.

“Of course, several times. For scouting and security purposes. But we don’t go too far. And Makoto’s not fond of going above,” he explained with an ominous tone.

“Why?” Temari raised her eyebrow, puzzled.

“She dislikes the sunlight,” he answered. Temari didn’t know whether it was a joke or an actual reason, but she nodded anyway.

“Papa!”

A tiny female voice yelled in front of them as both Temari and Kei turned towards the direction. Kei’s serious face suddenly brightened up. Temari looked at who was in front of them carefully. A woman, similar age to Kei was holding a toddler in her arms, a girl presumably and another girl, slightly older, maybe around four or five years old was running towards them, waving her arms in the air with a wide smile on her face.

“My Mei Mei,” Kei greeted the girl as he held out his arms to the girl. He caught her and hugged her as he lifted her up, spun her around and put her down. Temari stared at them as she heard the girl giggling and couldn’t help but smile warmly at the sight of his family. The woman, presumably his wife, with the toddler in her arms walked up, with a tired but kind expression on her face.

“Out late, dear?” she greeted as Kei kissed her on the cheek. He scrunched his face playfully at the toddler as he cupped her face in his hands gently and rubbed his palm all over her hair.

“I’ll be home soon,” Kei told her softly. Her eyes shifted to Temari who was standing nearby and she gave her a suspicious look.

“Who is this?” She asked in a colder voice. Temari was a bit startled by the confrontation.

“She and her brothers fell down from the surface. We found them in the tunnels,” Kei calmly explained before Temari could answer. “They’re from the Sand Village. Her brother is injured so I’m escorting her back to the hospital.”

“Hey!” the little girl called out to Temari and she looked down at her, who seemed curious and stared behind her. “What’s that?” Temari glanced and noticed that she was pointing at her fan. She took it out and showed it off.

“It’s a fan. A huge one,” She opened it up and it expanded in size. “I can use it to make strong wind and even tornadoes.”

“Really?” The girl asked curiously, even feeling impressed.

“I can fly on it too. Like a bird,” Temari playfully answered.

“Wow! What’s a bird?” Her response baffled Temari, but she assumed it was because she was too young to know what it was.

“If you want to, we can ride on my fan and I’ll show you,” she jokingly suggested.

“Yay!!!” Mei cheered, waving her hands about and ran around the adults. The woman however, seemed worried and grabbed her daughter’s hand.

“Maybe later, honey. It’s getting late,” she told her. She turned to Temari, with a less hostile look. “Nice to meet you,” she uttered reluctantly as she kissed Kei goodbye and left with the two girls., Kei turned to Temari with an apologetic look as they continued to walk back to the hospital.

“That was my wife and daughters. Sorry… people here aren’t used to outsiders,” Kei explained, feeling apologetic.

“Understandable,” Temari waved her hand to brush it off. Kei suddenly cracked a smile on his face, shifting his eyes at her.

“You’re good with kids,” he commented.

“Well, I am the oldest among my siblings. And I teach the kids at the school in my village sometimes, so that probably helped too,” she explained, half sighing when she thought about the times she had to endure the many types of kids’ shenanigans in school.

“You’re married?” The question had her slightly flustered.

“What? No! I mean, not yet… I guess,” Temari frantically answered but tried to calm down at the end.

“Is there anyone special?” Kei inquired. Upon hearing that question, Temari could only think of one person in mind, which made her feel both annoyed and embarrassed. Still, she couldn’t help but smile in amusement when she thought about him.

“Just a troublesome idiot.”


	6. Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Temari and Gaara discuss about what they think of the others. And so did Yukari and Kei.

Temari walked in the hospital corridor towards her brother’s ward after Kei escorted her back. He was waiting outside for Yukari while Temari went to relay the message to her and return to her brother. She felt any of her doubts over his place disappeared, but still, she felt the need to return to surface soon because being underground was starting to feel a little claustrophobic.

She arrived at her brother’s room and peeked in before entering. She was surprised at the sight she saw, but then smiled in amusement. Yukari was sitting next to Gaara’s bed, facing him the opposite way as she and Gaara both held a few cards in their hands, and some colourful cards sat on the bed. Gaara was scratching his head in confusion, while Yukari’s face was filled with focus on her deck. They looked like children to Temari.

“What does this one do again?” Gaara asked as he held out one of his card. Yukari quickly glanced before going back to her own cards.

“It skips a turn for your opponent,” she explained. Before she could pick out a card from her deck, Gaara looked up and noticed his sister.

“Temari, you’re back,” he remarked. Yukari jumped up in surprise and looked up immediately with wide-eyed expression. Temari walked in with a smug smile.

“You two look like you’re having fun,” she commented with a joking tone.

“Where’s Kan… Kuro?” Yukari asked, unsure whether she was saying it right or not.

“Your friend, Makoto took him drinking,” Temari answered. Yukari could only rubbed her forehead in frustration, sighing.

“Sorry. She can be impulsive sometimes,” Yukari apologized. Temari waved her hand to assure her it wasn’t much of a problem.

“Kei is waiting for you outside, by the way,” Temari told her.

“Oh, right,” Yukari got up and took a few steps, before turning around to say something. “Please excuse me. And keep the cards. I’ll see you tomorrow,” and with that, she left in a hurry, leaving both Temari and Gaara to stare after her. Temari turned to her brother, intending to tease him as she put on a sly expression.

“You two look like you’re already best friends,” she joked as she dragged the chair nearer to the side table and sat down, resting her elbow on it. Gaara frowned, not appreciating her making fun of him.

“She’s just being nice,” he dismissed quickly.

“Sure she was,” she responded with sarcasm. Temari grabbed a card and looked at it. “What did you talk about while we were away?”

“She told me about her role as the village leader, and a little bit about her own life. I suggested to form an alliance with this village, but she asked if she could speak with her council first tomorrow morning,” Gaara explained.

“Are you sure you want to do that, Gaara?” Temari asked. “They don’t have anything to offer us. At least anything that we don’t have.”

“They don’t need to,” he told her. “It’s just about making a connection and adding more allies for the Sand Village. If we can offer something to help them, then why not? In any case, they can return the favour in the future should we need something then.”

“I guess you’re right,” Temari sighed. “They don’t seem to be any different than any other villagers on the surface. Just a little… too wary and cautious. Maybe the alliance will be good for them.”

“What did you find out?” Gaara asked.

“Kei explained that this village has been around for a hundred years, so most people here have probably lived here their entire lives,” Temari answered. “But it can still operate like any other village. They get supplies through the tunnel once a week and other resources from the cave itself.” Temari explained, and then thought of something momentarily.

“By the way they handled their weapons, we can assume they have some combat training down here. The way that girl, Yukari handled her sword was interesting. And Kei’s weapon is strange but I’ve seen some illustrations of it. Didn’t think anyone would actually make them though,” she continued.

“Yuka said they’re down here because they want to protect themselves from outsiders. I wonder if it’s actually SOMETHING that they’re protecting,” Gaara stated with a thoughtful expression. But Temari raised her eyebrow, surprised by something he said.

“Yuka?” She remarked cynically, slowly grinning. Gaara realized what she meant and he felt embarrassed.

“She… She said to call her that,” Gaara hastily tried to explain, but Temari was already laughing.

“You’re so cute, little brother,” she wiped a tear down her face as she tried to contain herself. Gaara became flustered and turning away with a sulk.

“Whatever,” he mumbled under his breath.

…..

“Had a good dinner?” Yukari greeted Kei who was waiting outside.

“Yes. I bought some food. Sorry you had to stay behind,” Kei handed her a plastic, containing a paper box filled with friend noodles. Yukari shook her head, reassuring him.

“It’s okay. I’d gotten to know Gaara… And-and you know, like why he’s here and stuff!” She quickly added, as if embarrassed by her initial answer. Kei noticed this and couldn’t help but be amused by her reaction.

“Is he nice?” He asked.

“Yes… I mean! I, I guess so... He played cards with me,” she answered in a quiet voice, unsure. Her reaction was enough to cause Kei to hold back some laughter, as he was pleased to see her making a connection with someone her own age.

“Good enough,” he commented. “I’ll write a report about them to the council office. Did you find out why they’re here?” Kei continued to ask, this time with a more serious tone.

“Gaara and his siblings were travelling to scout new territories north of his village. He said since he stumbled upon our village, he suggests to form an alliance with us,” Yukari told him.

“Hmm, interesting,” Kei remarked quietly. “Would you want to?”

“It’s not up to me, is it?” She responded, with a doubtful look on her face.

“Yuka, you’re the leader of our village. Every decision is ultimately up to you,” Kei told her. Yukari stared down at the ground, feeling uncertain and even slight disdain.

“The council hates outsiders. Remember what happened with Makoto?” She reminded Kei.

“Makoto was dangerous. Well, she probably still is, but at least she’s manageable now. I highly doubt everyone on the surface is like that,” Kei remarked with a scoff. Yukari sighed, having many thoughts in her mind. Kei stared at her, still waiting for her answer. “Well?” Yukari shifted her eyes and looked around the village.

“It’d be nice for us to connect with people outside of this village. Be exposed to new things, new people... The kids would definitely like that. Even I get tired of just knowing and seeing the same thing over and over,” Yukari said and then sighed in defeat. “I don’t know.”

“Yuka, if you feel strongly about it, then express what you feel to the council,” Kei reassured her.

“What about you, Kei?” Yukari asked.

“I do wonder whether it’ll bring any good to this village,” Kei pondered. Then, he briefly remembered the moment between Temari and his daughter and cracked a small smile. “Hmph, maybe it will. They don’t seem like bad people.” Yukari looked at him and felt a similar feeling when she thought about Gaara, even though she had only known him for a few hours.

“Yeah,” she said.

Suddenly, both of them caught a sight of Makoto and Kankuro walking towards them. Kankuro looked a little flushed, walking with slight swaying to his steps while Makoto supported him, laughing the entire way while mumbling something in between. As they were about to pass by each other, Yukari glared, unsatisfied with her behaviour.

“Makoto, what do you think you’re doing?” she complained. But Makoto maintained her uncaring attitude and scoffed.

“Relax, Yuka. I’m just giving the newbies a little welcome,” she remarked. “Anyway, see you back home. I gotta send this one off.” And with that, Makoto walked off with Kankuro, leaving both Kei and Yukari to look at her with dissatisfied looks.


	7. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara and his siblings went to see Yukari to talk about their new alliance but were met with hostility.

The next morning, Gaara dressed up, buttoning up his coat as he got ready to leave. His head wounds were mostly healed up. His ankle felt better too, though there was a slight pain still lingering around. He was waiting for the arrivals of his siblings by the window, staring at the view of the village.

“Temari, I’m telling you, that woman is crazy,” Gaara heard Kankuro’s voice as he and Temari walked in. He turned to face his siblings, wondering what they were talking about.

“You’re exaggerating. ‘Sucking you dry’? You guys were probably drunk,” Temari responded with a blasé tone.

“I was this close to getting bitten by her. And you saw that she has sharp teeth!” Kankuro was getting agitated. Gaara narrowed his eyes, curious but too tired to deal with it at the moment.

“What are you talking about?” He asked.

“That lunatic, Makoto. You guys better not leave me alone with her again,” Kankuro shuddered, looking a little traumatized.

“Yuka did mention something about her,” Gaara said, prompting Kankuro to give Temari a knowing look. “But it’s probably just a joke,” Gaara brushed it off, wanting to move on from the subject. Kankuro dropped his shoulders in disappointment. “Anyway, we’re meeting them after this. I’m seeing them and their council about forming an alliance with them.”

“You sure you want to, Gaara? We barely know anything about them,” Kankuro piped in.

“It’s just an idea. Let’s see if something can come out from it,” he promptly replied, walking out the door, with Temari and Kankuro following him.

As they walked out the entrance, the three siblings looked around, observing the village. There were people walking about, doing their business. Some that passed by stared at them with both suspicious and curious looks on their faces.

“I feel so welcomed already,” Kankuro sarcastically remarked.

“Come on, we’d probably do the same,” Temari refuted, being annoyed with Kankuro’s negative attitude. She turned to Gaara.

“Gaara, where should we meet them?” She asked him. Gaara remained silent and was slowly frowning. After a few seconds, he responded.

“I… forgot to ask,” he answered, feeling embarrassed. Temari and Kankuro paused for a moment, before slapping their foreheads in frustration. Temari sighed, not wanting to dwell on it any further.

“Right... Let’s just try to look for one of them. They should be around somewhere,” she suggested. Gaara nodded in agreement and they walked off.

They went through the village, turning their heads left and right to look for the familiar faces. Most of the villagers stared at them with curiosity as they went about their daily lives. But mostly, they didn’t seem hostile and just ignored them. Gaara finally approached some of them and asked where they would find the village leader. Most didn’t want to answer because they didn’t want to talk to these new people, but one or two pointed them in a general direction, which didn’t help much either.

After a while, they finally found a familiar face. Makoto was hanging out by the river eating some bread. She looked up and noticed the trio. She gave them a toothy smile as usual, but seemed as if she wanted to ignore them afterwards. They walked up towards her, with Kankuro approaching first.

“What are you doing loitering around? Don’t you have a job to do? Or… what is it that you do here exactly?” Kankuro remarked half-jokingly, still feeling bitter from the previous night. Makoto didn’t seem to like his response and scowled.

“What do you want?” She asked with a sharp tone. Gaara walked up to her, which made Makoto feel surprised.

“Where can we find Yuka?” He asked, which immediately made Makoto feel apprehensive.

“Why?” She promptly asked.

“I was talking with her yesterday about an idea for both our villages. She told me to meet her with her council and discuss about it,” Gaara explained calmly. Though Makoto did have an air of wildness and volatility to her, he didn’t find any reason to see her as a threat.

“Oh, work talk, huh?” Makoto loosened up a bit. She threw away her food packet towards a nearby bin, went up to Gaara and patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll take you to her. Come along.” As they were walking, Temari suddenly spoke out.

“Can you show us the way out as well when we’re done here?” She asked. Makoto sighed.

“Alright, alright, one thing at a time,” Makoto answered impatiently.

“Thank you,” Temari promptly thanked her. She noticed Makoto’s erratic change of moods and decided not to push it. After remembering what Kankuro was babbling before, she didn’t want to tempt anything.

They had arrived at a building, bigger size than the usual ones. It wasn’t tall, but it was wide and circular. On the front entrance was a sign that read “Council Office”. Two officers were standing guard by the front entrance and they noticed Makoto approaching them with the siblings.

“Makoto, you know you can’t enter,” one of them told Makoto, taking a step to his side, as if shielding the door. It wasn’t exactly hostile, more of a friendly warning. Makoto shrugged and waved her hands.

“Of course I do,” she replied casually, as if she never had a problem with it. She turned to the siblings behind her and gestured at them. “These people are from the Sand Village and they kind of fell down here accidentally. They’re looking for Yuka. Business reasons and all that. Show them the way, would you?” The officers glanced at the trio for a moment and nodded.

“Come along,” the officer speaking to Makoto called out to them. Gaara looked at Makoto, as if asking for confirmation and reassurance.

“Yuka always trains in the morning with Kei. She’ll be there in the training room. I’m not allowed to enter for… reasons,” Makoto reassured him. He nodded and followed the officers, with Temari and Kankuro right behind. She grinned at Kankuro as he passed her by, showing off her fangs. Upon looking at this sight, Kankuro jerked back in horror and quickly caught up to his siblings.

The building was surprisingly huge inside, with intricate hallways leading up to rooms and going further underground. If they weren’t careful, the Sand Siblings could get lost in a matter of minutes, but thankfully they were escorted.

“Maybe this place isn’t as backwards as I thought it’d be,” Temari whispered to Gaara. They arrived to a huge door, with a sign on it that said “Training Room”. The officers nodded to them, signalling them to enter.

“Thanks,” Gaara said and he opened the door, with his siblings behind him.

He saw flashes of light and quick movements suddenly in this big hall-like area. It looked like a training ground where people would have duels in combat. At the middle of the arena, they saw Yukari and Kei duelling with swords. Yukari swung around her sword, and sparred with Kei who had his own. They seemed to be of equal speed. Temari noticed Gaara staring at Yukari with widened eyes, as if he was impressed. She coyly smiled and nudged him.

“She’s pretty great, isn’t she?” Temari teased. Gaara slowly start to nod but realized what he was doing and stopped, becoming flustered.

“We’re here to speak with her,” he clumsily responded. Kankuro raised his eyebrow, puzzled at his reaction and looked at Temari for answers, who only gave him a knowing look. He was still confused.

After several minutes, Kei finally saw the siblings and stopped, straightening up. Yukari noticed his reaction and turned around to see the siblings waiting by the entrance. Her serious persona dropped and she stumbled around, sheathing her sword on her back and running off to the side where her coat hung, nearly tripping. Kei on the other hand, calmly walked towards them and sheathed his sword at the side of his waist.

“Did you have a good rest?” He asked as he approached, in a friendly but still serious manner.

“Yes, thank you for the hospitality. The medical officers were helpful as well,” Gaara answered professionally.

“I’m glad,” Kei nodded.

“I’m sorry!” Yukari ran up to them, panting in exhaustion. “I forgot tell you where to meet. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

“Not at all. We ran into Makoto,” Temari replied.

“Well, that wouldn’t have been less troubling, to be honest,” Kei remarked jokingly, with an eye roll. Yukari ignored him and turned to the siblings.

“We’re meeting at the conference room. Let’s go,” she told them as she waved her hand, signalling them to follow her as they went to the door.

Just as they stepped out, they were suddenly met with security officers, who were pointing the same kind of weapons that Kei used before. They seemed to have hostile intentions, judging by their facial expressions. Gaara looked to Yukari, with a look on his face that wanted answers for the sudden confrontation. But he noticed that she herself looked puzzled with what was going on.

“What is this about?” Yukari raised her voice, baffled with the treatment they were receiving.

“Please keep your distance from them, ma’am,” one of the officers called out.

“What are you talking about?” She fired back, irritated.

“My lady, please listen,” a voice spoke and an older man in a white uniform, supposedly a council uniform walked in. “This boy is the Jinchuuriki from the Sand Village. Gaara of the Desert, as he is called. And his subordinates by his side. We fear they may have ulterior motives coming down here,” he explained. Temari and Kankuro felt triggered upon hearing that word again but Gaara remained calm.

“They fell down here by accident. We’re just trying to help them,” Kei told them, trying to diffuse the situation.

“Then, what is this business about forming an alliance?” The council member responded. Kei became quiet and looked at Yukari, who only glared at the councilman.

“If you constantly want to have your people eavesdrop and spy on us, we might as well talk about it like civilized people. Shall we?” She proposed sternly. The council member looked afraid by her reaction. 

“Fine, My Lady. I will gather the others,” he apologetically told her and turned to the officers.

“Escort these people to the room and guard them. If they retaliate, shoot them,” he whispered to one of the security officers and he nodded in abidance. The officer walked towards the siblings and pointed his weapon.

“Get moving,” he snapped at them.

Gaara and his siblings looked like they wanted to resist and glared at them, but nevertheless, they complied and followed the officers as they all walked towards the conference room where they would be having their meeting.


	8. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sand Siblings are being put as the main subjects of the council meeting of the Light Village.

Gaara, Temari and Kankuro were all waiting in the council meeting room, with guards at their side, holding their weapons, ready to attack if they resisted. There were several council members, around eight of them sitting on one side of the table. The Sand Siblings were at the other side of the table. Kankuro and Temari felt anxious but Gaara remained calm, anticipating whatever judgment that was going to be thrown towards them.

The door opened and Yukari walked in with Kei. She looked serious and even annoyed, as if her whole plan for the day was ruined by this sudden incident. Although Gaara was unsure whether she was angry at the council or at him and his siblings. They stared at her all the way from the door to the seat she took at the front, while the councilmen stood up. As she sat down, she sighed heavily, with Kei taking the seat next to her.

“Alright,” Yukari announced, feeling impatient. “What is this about?”

“Forgive me, My Lady,” one of them spoke. “We were doing it out of precaution.”

“You mentioned “Jinchuuriki”. What is it?” Yukari asked. The councilmen looked at each other, hesitating to answer. “Well?” Yukari was becoming impatient.

“Jinchuuriki are people who have tailed beasts sealed inside of them. They are considered dangerous as those beasts could be released at any time-“

“Gaara’s not a Jinchuuriki anymore,” suddenly Kankuro spoke out with an angry tone to his voice. “He’s no longer a danger to anyone, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

“Silence!” A councilmen barked. “You have no business intruding on our matters-“

“They have a right to defend themselves,” Yukari cut in. “And I don’t appreciate how you’re keeping information from me.” The sharpness of her voice made the councilmen fell back in silence.

“As for what the Sand Villager said, we already knew that the boy doesn’t have the beast inside him,” a councilman spoke. “That’s why we might have suspicions that they were here for another reason.”

“And what would that be?” Yukari asked.

“They are here to steal your powers,” the councilman spoke. “They needed a replacement power source for the Jinchuu- the boy, since he is now without a tailed beast inside of him. You do have the Guardian’s power after all.”

Yukari straightened up upon hearing this and slowly turned to look at the Sand siblings with a quizzical look in her eyes. Gaara and his siblings on the other hand, all wondered what the Guardian is and what is its power.

“Is this true?” Yukari addressed the siblings for the first time. She seemed like she was about to be swayed into distrusting them. Gaara had to speak up.

“Yuka, as I’ve said before, my siblings and I just happened to stumble upon your village. I don’t know anything about this Guardian power. I didn’t even know of this place. Like you’ve told me before, this village was meant to be kept hidden,” Gaara explained calmly.

“And what about you being a Jinchuuriki? The tailed beast inside you. What happened to it?” She pressed on further, still narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

“It was forcibly extracted from me, almost causing me to lose my life… and costing someone else theirs… It was a painful time of my life when I had it but it doesn’t matter anymore since it’s no longer a part of me,” he continued, reminiscing about the sad events that led up to this moment.

“Is it true that it gives you a lot of power?” Kei asked.

“Yes, the beast gave a lot of power to my brother,” Temari spoke out. “But my brother doesn’t need it anymore. I could argue…” she looked at her brother, who returned her look. “-That he’s much stronger without it. Or any other power for that matter.” Upon hearing her answer, Gaara couldn’t help but feel touched on the inside.

Yukari stared at them, taking a few moments to think about what they just said. Eventually, she realized that they were sincere enough in their answers, and decided to stop questioning them.

“And what is this motive about forming an alliance with us?” A councilman asked. “What could we possibly have to offer you?”

“You don’t have to offer anything,” Gaara answered. “Forming an alliance just means connecting our two villages in times of crisis. If your village requires help with anything, I’ll be happy to oblige. And it can go both ways, if you have the means. Protection from danger is something we can provide-“

“And why should we need that?” a councilman scoffed at the answer. “We have the Guardian here with us.”

Gaara and his siblings turned to look at Yukari, wondering how strong she could be if they were willing to risk it all on her. Yukari however did not look pleased with how the council kept trying to boast about her and scowled angrily, but she maintained her silence.

“I didn’t come here with that intention initially. But now that we’ve come across it, I just thought it’d be a good opportunity to form a connection between our two villages,” Gaara paused and thought about something. He turned to look at Yukari. “There was a war recently and it took a lot out of most of us. As the leader of my village, it made me realize the importance of having friends… I want to offer it to others in case they need it. It’s fine if you refuse. We will leave on good terms.”

That last sentence confirmed to Yukari of her own feelings and she decided to put an end to her doubts. Kei meanwhile, thought about his own experience with them. His daughters came to mind as well and he sighed, turning to the councilmen.

“Yukari already spoke with Gaara about the matter. She felt that this would bring a lot of good to the village… and so do I,” Kei spoke out in support of them.

“But… My Lady,” a councilman called out. “If we start making ourselves known to surface dwellers, the existence of this village will be exposed. It’s dangerous-“

“Why would it be? Like you said, I’m here to protect us all,” Yukari told him with a stern yet spiteful tone. One of the councilman couldn’t take it anymore looked nervous and was shaking as he stood up.

“We keep this place hidden not to protect the people, but to protect YOU,” the councilman blurted out. Yukari was surprised by the answer. “We feared that what happened with the Jinchuuriki…” he pointed out to Gaara. “…Might happen to you. Someone could steal the power away and it would cease the existence of the Guardian."

With that answer, both Yukari and the Sand Siblings became silent as they tried to process the information. Yukari felt dread upon receiving that information, suddenly thinking of her mortality. But eventually, she was fed up for being treated like her feelings didn’t matter, and slammed her fists on the table and stood up, to the shock of the council.

“You gave me this,” she snapped. “When I didn’t even want it. But you know what? I did everything I could. You entrusted me to protect this village and I won’t back down... Or do you not trust me anymore?” The council let out a silent gasp, nervous by the confrontation from their leader.

“N-No, we do trust you, but-“

“Do you think I’m weak?”

“Of course not-”

“Then there’s nothing else to say,” Yukari finished, making everyone fall into a collective silence. “It’s my job to protect and lead this village. So LET ME.” Her angry voice made everyone unsure of what to say. Yukari took a few seconds to calm down and sank back into her seat. She turned to look at Gaara, seemingly calmer after letting out some steam.

“I’ll agree to it,” Yukari stated. She turned to the councilmen. “My decision is final. Understand?”

The councilmen looked at each other momentarily, silently discussing among each other. Some of them looked concerned, some ashamed of their response and some looked unsatisfied, but remained silent. Eventually, the representative of the councilmen sighed and nodded.

“Yes, My Lady,” he gave their response. Yukari stood up from the meeting table for the final time that day.

“The Sand Villagers want to go home, so Kei, Makoto and I will go and escort them back,” she declared and walked off, with Kei following after her. She stopped by the door and looked at Gaara and his siblings, gesturing with her head to follow her. She and Kei exited the room, with the guards taking Gaara and his siblings out afterwards.


	9. Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meeting went well, but the Light Villagers are met with new complications when they want to return the Sand Siblings to the surface.

Yukari and Kei walked out of the building, going down the stairs as they met with Makoto, who was lying on the pavements, looking bored. She turned her head towards them as they were approaching her and jumped up to her feet, taking a few slow steps towards them.

“That was quick,” she remarked sarcastically. “Should have known those old farts took their time.”

“The council had some issues with the Sand Villagers. But thanks to Yuka, I don’t think it will be a problem anymore,” Kei replied, looking at Yukari.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Makoto punched Yukari’s arm playfully, to which Yukari frowned, rubbing her arm where she was hit and feeling annoyed.

“Didn’t know you had it in you,” Kankuro complimented her casually.

“I’m sick of them,” Yukari muttered under her breath. A moment later, she realized what she said and looked at the faces staring at her, suddenly feeling embarrassed. She froze in place and waved her hands frantically.

“Let’s… just… go!” she raised her voice unintentionally. Just as they were about to take another step, someone wearing some sort of mining uniform came running hastily towards Yukari.

“My Lady,” the person panted in exhaustion and took a break as she stopped. “There’s a problem with the tunnels.”

“What happened?” Kei asked.

“Our supplies team was supposed to go out today, but they reported that some of the tunnels have collapsed and caused a blockage to the routes above. We think it might have happened yesterday,” the worker explained in rapid breaths. Upon hearing this, Gaara suddenly realized something. He quickly huddled closer to his siblings, as if to disclose private information.

“I must have caused it,” Gaara said with a low voice to Temari and Kankuro.

“What was that, boy?” Makoto called out and grabbed Gaara by his arm, bringing him forward to Yukari and Kei, much to their surprise.

“What’s going on?” Yukari asked, confused by what just occurred.

“He’s got something to tell you,” Makoto mentioned lazily. Gaara took a moment to compose himself and reveal the truth.

“We were attacked by these giant bugs above ground just by the hole we fell down. I…” Gaara hesitated, feeling a sweat trickling down his forehead. “I might have used my Sand ability to fend them off, and it caused a hole below us to open. I think that I might have caused the ground to shake and… it probably made those landslides in the tunnels.” Gaara half expected Yukari and the others to be upset, but they seemed more concerned with the situation.

“Can you help clear them out?” Yukari asked.

“I can try,” Gaara simply replied, breathing a sigh of relief at their calm reactions.

“Good,” she told them. She turned to the worker. “Do you have a map of the tunnels?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the worker took out from his bag and showed a map. “I took the time to mark which routes that were damaged as well.”

“That’s great,” Yuka grabbed the map from the worker. “You can go make a report to the council office. We’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” the worker bowed slightly and ran off to the office. Yukari turned to the Sand Siblings.

“If you want to go home soon, we better get started.”


	10. The Tunnels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Light and Sand Villagers make their way in the tunnels and start doing the repairs on the damage done.

Yukari, Gaara and the others started their journey in the tunnels as they made their way from the entrance they went through before. They took their time going through the tunnels, as they dispersed in separate groups. Gaara and Yukari were walking up ahead, naturally leading their subordinates, while the rest were walking together in a loose distance. Temari stared at the two in front and had some questions running through her mind.

“Can I ask you guys a question?” she asked the Light Villagers. Makoto and Kei turned, curious about what Temari wanted to know.

“What’s the Guardian that the council mentioned before?” Temari inquired as Kei and Makoto looked at each other, wondering whether they should explain or dance around the topic. Kei decided to just be honest and turned to Temari.

“The Guardian is the leader of the village. The former Guardian will select the next one by their own choice, transfer their powers and then subsequently pass away,” he started explaining.

“So she was chosen then? How long has Yukari been a Guardian?” Kankuro asked.

“Since birth,” Kei told them, which threw them off their guard.

“Is it normal to select your leaders from infanthood?” Kankuro asked again, with a hint of snide tone to his voice, but he did his best to hide it.

“No… Not really,” Kei answered, hesitating to continue. He sighed, giving in to reveal information. “The truth is, many of the villagers thought it was a mistake made by the previous Guardian. When he passed on his powers to this baby in the orphanage, he was thought to be insane or just someone who didn’t think straight about it. Too bad no one could ask what he actually intended, since he died soon afterwards.”

“That must have made things complicated,” Temari commented.

“It did,” Kei said. “The council had to take over leadership while having to raise her from infancy. When she was old enough to learn, they allowed her to take on the responsibilities. With guidance from an adult of course.”

“You?” Temari asked.

“Yes, I was tasked with being her mentor ten years ago. I was an officer working under the Council back then,” Kei explained. “It wasn’t an easy job to take on… but she was a good kid. Still is.” He scoffed in amusement.

“So, does being the Guardian comes with any… special abilities?” Temari slyly tried to pry for more information.

Kei shifted his eyes to Temari momentarily with an unreadable expression. Strangely, he shifted his eyes away and kept quiet, not wanting to answer, which left Temari feeling puzzled, but she was reluctant to repeat the question. Kankuro turned his attention to Makoto, who didn’t seem to be paying attention to their conversation.

“And what about you? What’s your story?” He asked cynically, as if anything Makoto say wouldn’t matter much. Makoto glanced at him, at first with an unimpressed look, but then her mouth carved into her usual toothy smile. Temari and Kankuro felt a creep up their spine every time she showed that expression of hers.

“You wouldn’t want to know,” that was all Makoto said. Temari and Kankuro again both turned to Kei, expecting answers from him instead. Kei shrugged, not wanting to answer anything involving Makoto either, though he did it more out of displeasure rather than privacy.

Gaara and Yukari in the meantime, were walking side by side in silence. As Yukari was looking at the map in her hands, Gaara looked around the tunnels, staring at the crevices and curvature of the rocky walls. His eyes then fell on Yukari, with a lot of questions on his mind. He thought about what he wanted to say, so he decided to try bring up what happened at the council meeting.

“That was a strong display,” he remarked. He wondered whether that sounded strange by itself so he continued, “…With your council, I mean.”

“They treat me like my decisions don’t matter,” Yukari replied, in a quiet voice, but she felt tense. “I’ve had enough.”

“That’s what makes a good leader,” Gaara commented. “Knowing when to speak your mind.” Yukari glanced at Gaara, a small smile naturally forming on her mouth.

“I’m sure I could learn from you,” she responded with an upbeat tone, but then looked ahead and sighed, feeling heavy about something. “I’m just tired of it.”

“What? Being underground?” Gaara guessed.

“That,” Yukari pointed out. “But also, this job... I wish I could have just lived however I wanted, be whatever I wanted...”

“I understand how that feels,” Gaara said quietly, almost to himself. But Yukari noticed what he said and was curious.

“When you were a Jinchuuriki?” She suggested, to his surprise as he turned his head swiftly to her with widened eyes.

He looked away, somewhat regretting his response, because he knew it would be brought up. Yukari noticed his reaction and felt bad about asking. She decided not to pursue information any further and focused on the map in her hands. After a minute or two, they came to a stop and realized there was an obstruction of rocks in front of them.

“Here’s the first one,” Yukari stated and put the map away. The others came to a stop as well and looked at the aftermath. “If we clear this one, we can get to the others.”

“Man, that’s a lot of rocks,” Makoto remarked with a whistle while staring at the obstacle. “How many do we have?”

“Fifteen, all throughout the map and a distance from each other,” as soon as Yukari said it, she could feel a collective sighs of exhaustion all around her.

“Why do you guys have so many tunnels?” Kankuro asked, waving his hands, feeling baffled.

“How else do you think we’d get a lot of supplies to run the place?” Makoto responded, irritated wby his reaction.

“So?” Yukari turned to Gaara. “Do you think you can clear this off with your… ability?” Gaara looked at her momentarily, and then looked at the blockade, thinking as he stared at it. He turned to his sister.

“Temari, you can help me clean the tunnels while I clear out the rocks,” he told her. Temari nodded and took out her fan, opening it out.

“Make sure not to go overboard. We don’t want the same thing to happen again,” Yukari warned, and Gaara nodded in agreement.

He walked right in front of the rocks. He took a deep breath and lifted his arms up, holding out his hands as he summoned his ability, feeling the chakra inside flowing through. Yukari and the others backed away and gave them space, while observing him.

They felt the earth vibrating and saw the rocks up ahead moving. Eventually they turned into dust and sand and moved on its own. The sand integrated with the rocky walls and hardened, while Temari moved her fan, creating a small gust of wind and cleared the tunnel of any excess dirt or sand. As he and Temari finished, they heard some cheering from behind and turned around.

“That was cool!” Yukari exclaimed in excitement. Gaara and Temari looked at each other, puzzled with her reaction.

“Impressive,” Kei simply stated.

“Face-paint, what can you do?” Makoto asked jokingly as she wrapped her arms around Kankuro, who fidgeted uncomfortably.

“I summon and control… puppets,” Kankuro slowly said, somehow feeling ashamed after saying it. Makoto laughed in amusement, while Kankuro glared at her.

“Makoto,” Yukari sternly called out Makoto, but she herself was stifling a giggle when she heard Kankuro’s answer.

“You’re funny,” Makoto remarked and released her grasp on Kankuro, who brushed himself off and glared at her.

“How did you do that?” Yukari continued expressing her amazement over Gaara and Temari. They turned to each other.

“If you can harness and use the chakra inside you, it’s something you can learn to do,” Temari answered.

“Really?” Yukari really did seem unaware of this knowledge, to their surprise.

“Didn’t you know about it when you learned combat training?” Temari asked again, trying to clarify. Yukari looked puzzled and turned to Kei, who noticed her reaction.

“We only knew of basic chakra training and control. The most we could do is medical ninjutsu and creating… lights, I guess,” Kei explained, feeling slightly humbled.

“We could provide your village with shinobi education that teaches these sort of things,” Gaara told Yukari, who couldn’t look happier. He was baffled at their naïve reaction.

“That’d be great! Isn’t it, Kei?” She almost jumped, tightening her fists to contain her excitement. Kei, who always looked serious, even smirked at Yukari’s reaction. Gaara felt amused witnessing her response, and smiled.

They continued on and after a while, they managed to clear two thirds of the tunnels that were affected with the landslide. Kei and Makoto examined the structure, making sure it was fixed properly. After they gave them confirmation that everything was alright, Yukari checked the map and studied it for a moment.

“Alright,” she displayed the map on the floor where everyone could see it. “If we take this tunnel here, we could return to the place where you first dropped down, right over here. There’s still some tunnels that needs repair on the way there, but that should be it. After that, we should be good,” Yuka explained as she went over some parts of the map. She stood up, rolled the map and put it into her coat. She looked at each and every one around her with a determined look.

“Let’s go.”


	11. A Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After some hard work done, the Light and Sand Villagers take a break.

Time had passed until it reached evening. After several hours, they managed to clear most of the paths. Kei checked his pocket watch for the time, while Yukari looked at the map. Makoto was just hanging around, sharpening her weapons as she leaned against the rocks while Gaara and his siblings wait nearby. Kei and Yukari walked over to them.

“There should be two more after your drop off point. But the way there will a bit of a walk,” Yukari told them, putting the map away. Gaara and the others nodded.

“Maybe we can take a break for a bit. It’s been a long day after all,” Temari told her.

“There’s a place not too far from here, a cavern with a pool. We can rest there,” Kei said.

They continued on for another few minutes until they reached a big cavern area. It was different than the rest of the tunnels, aesthetic wise. The area was a large cave, and lit by the light chakra balls and there were some at the bottom of the pool as well, which gave the water a lovely glow. It seemed like a great place to be alone with your thoughts.

“What is this place?” Kankuro asked, looking around in awe.

“This is our water supply. We created a pipe system that goes directly to the village,” Kei explained. “Used to be the villagers had to travel all the way here for water. You can imagine how difficult life was back then.”

“Yeah, sounds kind of rough,” Temari remarked, exhaling as she imagined the situation in her mind. “I guess we can settle down here for a while.”

“You know, it will be night time soon,” Yukari told them. “You sure you guys don’t want to stay at the village for one more night?”

“Yuka, you cheeky girl,” Makoto commented mischievously as she nudged her, which made Yukari scowl at her in irritation.

“I’m just trying to be courteous,” Yuka responded before Makoto could continue making fun of her. “By the time we’re done, it would already be late.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Gaara responded. “But I think it’s better if we go back before anyone at home worries about us. We’re supposed to report back in two days. And I can’t leave the village alone for too long.” There was a hint of disappointment in Yukari’s face, but she nodded in understanding.

“Okay,” Yukari replied. “Well then, let’s take a break.” She walked off to a spot, with Makoto and Kei following right after. Temari turned to Gaara with a cunning look in her eyes.

“You know, Gaara… You could just send me and Kankuro off first and stay here for a night if you want to,” Temari almost sang her words out, but Gaara wasn’t amused.

“Sh… Shut up,” he walked off in a hurry, leaving Kankuro to look puzzled as he turned to Temari.

“Oi, oi, what’s that about?” He asked. Temari said nothing, but winked and glanced at both Gaara and Yukari. After a few seconds, Kankuro leaned back and mouthed an “oh” and nodded with a sheepish smile.

Kankuro and Temari joined Kei and Makoto and sat together with them. Kei made some tea and Makoto took out something from the bag she was carrying, which was revealed to be a big container of food. They were proper handmade food too, like rice balls, baked bread, and cooked meat. She shoved them towards the Siblings on the ground, as if forcing them to eat.

“You guys must be starving,” Makoto told them nonchalantly.

“Th-Thank you,” Temari thanked nervously, as she hesitantly grabbed a rice ball and took a bite. It was actually good, and a relief as they hadn’t eaten anything at all that day.

“Didn’t know a wild person like you could be a homemaker,” Kankuro teased as he chewed on her food.

“Just because I like cooking, doesn’t mean I am one,” Makoto responded. “I can’t eat them anyway.” Temari and Kankuro looked at each other with confusion, instantly regretting their decision to eat her food.

At the same time, Yukari was cross-legged on a rock which is an adequate size for sitting. She was staring out the water, calming her mind. Gaara was nearby, crouching down and washing his face to cool himself after a whole day of working the repairs in the tunnels. He stood up and noticed Yukari by herself. After a few seconds of deliberating in his mind, he decided to approach her.

“It’s a nice place here,” Gaara said as he took a seat next to her on the rock while Yukari just stared at him, as if waiting for him to elaborate. He wondered whether he should have said something more interesting and groaned in silence, turning away in embarrassment.

“I don’t come to this place that often when we’re on patrol, but I like it here. It’s peaceful and nice,” Yukari said, turning her attention back to the water. Gaara followed her eye direction, noticing the pool’s aesthetics, and did realize that the sight was pleasing to see.

“It is beautiful,” Gaara remarked. “There’s not a lot of places like this where I come from.”

“What’s your village like?” Yukari asked with a sense of curiosity. Gaara stared back at her, wondering how to describe it.

“A lot of sand and wind. Hot during the day, cold at night,” he explained the best he could, but Yukari still seemed interested, looking at him with wide eyes. “I could show you around if you ever come by and visit,” he subconsciously offered, and immediately felt embarrassed. Yukari was surprised, and then smiled warmly.

“That sounds nice,” Yukari told him quietly. Gaara felt comforted by her response and looked down to the ground with a smile.

“Yuka, here,” Makoto came from behind and gave a container of food to Yukari. “Share some with Mister “Love” over there would you?” Makoto nudged her head towards Gaara. Yukari was startled and looked at what Makoto handed to her, grabbing it slowly.

“Thanks,” Yukari said with almost a sarcastic tone, but she masked it well.

“You got some dirt on your hair,” Makoto remarked as she brushed off her head and took off some debris and dust. Yukari pouted and tried to smack Makoto’s hand away.

“Stop,” she grumbled, but in a way a child would to their parents or older siblings. Makoto just laughed, humoured by her reaction and walked away casually.

“I’m gonna lie down,” she said with a bored tone to her voice. Yukari frowned for a moment and then opened the pack of food and pushed it to Gaara, who took some bread and looked at it quizzically.

“Thanks,” he said, taking a bite and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. “She does act like your mother a lot.”

“Ranking wise, she is still under my supervision, which is annoying whenever she does that,” Yukari remarked with a grunt. She sighed, as she was eating her food. “I suppose I should be thankful for it, since I never had a mother,” she added with a small smile. But the look in her eyes turned dark, and she stared down to the ground. “But it wasn’t like that the first time.”

“What do you mean?” Gaara asked, curious but slightly nervous upon hearing that.


	12. Sharing Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The subject of Makoto, the mysterious, wild woman was brought forth, which brought back some past emotions in Gaara.

“Kei,” Temari asked while they were eating, as she looked over to Makoto who was handing the food to Yukari. “What did she mean, she can’t eat these food?”

“Don’t tell me it’s poisoned,” Kankuro’s face went a little green, wondering if he should continue eating. But he was too famished from the whole day so he decided to just give in. Kei sighed, staring at Makoto as she walked to a different spot to lie down.

“Well, technically the food isn’t… hopefully,” Kei’s answer didn’t make either of them feel better. “Makoto has to survive on a… different type of diet. But she’s trying her best right now to eat like regular people.”

“That just sounds suspicious,” Kankuro responded, feeling more and more uncomfortable.

“What’s her story?” Temari calmly asked. Kei looked at her, his eyebrow slightly tense, clearly with some hesitation in his eyes and then he glanced at Makoto who already rested her back against a rock further off. Kei sighed heavily.

“Makoto wasn’t originally from around here. She came from the surface, back when Yukari was still a child,” Kei started his story. “When she first showed up, she was… an animal.”

“What do you mean?” Kankuro was both invested and terrified to learn about Makoto.

“Her history with the village wasn’t a stainless one. She thirsted for blood. Literally. She has killed several people and left the bodies drained out of all their blood. So the council sent some people to hunt her down,” Kei started explaining. “It was difficult at first, but they found out her weakness: the sunlight. It harms her skin and causes a lot of pain. A place underground like our village was the perfect hideout for her. So, the officers opened some holes to the surface and cornered her to a spot where she can’t escape. But she was too strong for them in combat. It was discovered that her saliva could cause paralysis and a bite from her fangs could be fatal because of the venom it secreted.” Hearing all this made both Temari and Kankuro look at Makoto from a distance warily.

“It wasn’t until Yuka herself intervened that they finally managed to take her down,” Kei said.

“What did she do?” Temari asked.

“Yuka has a… special ability,” Kei ambiguously answered. “She managed to keep Makoto in control long enough for the officers to come and lock her up in a sealed room, where she can’t do any more harm.”

“So then, why is she free now and working with both of you?” Temari continued to question Kei.

“That was Yuka’s decision. I didn’t agree with her initially, but I could only advise her,” Kei told them. “She went to talk with Makoto privately and came to an agreement. If Makoto was willing to change the way she lived that wouldn’t harm others and work under her, then she could have her freedom. This didn’t sit well with the council and the villagers obviously, but Yuka insisted. So, they provided some conditions as well.”

“Like being prohibited from entering the council office?” Kankuro asked, recalling what had happened earlier.

“Yes… among other things,” Kei replied. “It worked out well under Yuka’s supervision. Makoto’s proven to be a capable fighter and she had never hurt anyone else again, so the villagers don’t really fear her that much anymore. There was some… minor hiccups now and again, but they were resolved quickly.”

“Man, if that were to happen to us,” Kankuro turned to Temari, intending to make a cynical remark, but then suddenly realized the familiarity of the situation and decided to cut it off. “Actually, I don’t think any of us would agree to that in the first place,” he lied, with a shaky tone to his voice.

“I agree,” Kei added. “But at least some things worked out, thanks to Yuka.” Both Temari and Kankuro looked baffled at the constant mention of that.

“How did she do it exactly? You know, keeping Makoto under control?” Temari wanted to pry more information. But Kei already realized what she was doing and just turned away from them.

“She has her way,” with that vague answer from Kei, Temari and Kankuro became frustrated, but it was clearly something that he didn’t want to explain in detail and it was his choice to not reveal anything to them.

Yukari on the other hand, at the same time was telling the same story of Makoto to Gaara. He was interested and attentive in the story but there was something else he wanted to know.

“So why does she treat you like that?” He asked.

“I let Makoto stay with me in the house I was provided,” Yukari answered, and noticed Gaara’s baffled expression. “I know, crazy to be in the same room with a killer, right?” She remarked jokingly. But upon hearing that, Gaara was suddenly reminded of his dark past and couldn’t respond with anything. Yukari continued.

“It was so I could keep watch on her at all times. She couldn’t harm me even if she wanted to anyway,” she explained. “At the time, I lived alone, in the house the council provided for me. I didn’t really know how to take care of myself. When she started staying with me, she cooked, and even cleaned. She just doesn’t seem like the type, does she?” Yukari answered with a smile but gradually had a look of sadness in her eyes.

“One time, I asked her where she came from before… everything. And while she didn’t tell me anything exactly, she did hint to a life before she became this… monster. A life with someone she loved, as she put it… She must have went through a lot to get to this point in time,” Yukari ended her story and stared down with a heavy look in her eyes. Gaara remained silent as well, feeling as if Makoto’s story reflected his own in a way.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Yukari’s question snapped Gaara back to reality.

“Sure,” he quickly replied.

“Why do you have “Love” written on your forehead?” Yukari asked, staring at his forehead, with the “Love” kanji on it. Gaara was startled hearing her ask about it, wondering how he was going to answer.

“I…,” he started, but couldn’t find the words. “It’s… a long story,” eventually, he just muttered while looking away. Thinking about it hurt him a little inside, more so after hearing Makoto’s story. Yukari noticed his reaction, and felt guilty about asking, scaring that it might have brought back bad memories.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized with a low voice. Gaara looked at her, but didn’t say anything and turned back to see the water in front of them. It had a calming effect and made him feel better to share about himself.

“I was a monster too,” he said, feeling solemn. Yukari immediately turned to him, surprised, but she thought of something from before.

“When you were a Jinchuuriki?” Yukari asked.

“Everyone feared me when I was a child… when in fact, I didn’t ask for him to be put inside of me… But then, thinking back on it, I was acting like how they saw me. I… killed many people. Hated my siblings and everyone.” Gaara inhaled deeply and sighed. “I gave in to it.”

“What about now?” She asked.

“I met a good friend who changed me for the better. Of course, there were still people who hated me in the village, but I’m thankful that most of them were willing to give me a second chance,” he answered. He trailed off and had an intense look on his face. “I don’t know if I could live up to their expectations as a leader.”

“I’m sure you have,” Yukari consoled him. “Your siblings seem to think highly of you.”

“Hmph, ten years ago was a different story,” Gaara replied almost cynically, but still in good humour. Yukari smiled in delight at his reaction. They were quiet for a moment, looking away in different directions awkwardly. 

“May I?” Yukari’s voice made Gaara turn to look at her, and he was surprised. She had her hand out to his forehead where the “Love” kanji was. Gaara didn’t really know how to react, but found himself nodding as he stared at her. Yukari leaned in closer, touching his forehead where the kanji was and caressed it slowly with her fingers for several seconds. Gaara all the while, felt his heart racing rapidly as Yukari was physically close to him.

“So it’s not a tattoo,” Yukari muttered in a whisper. “It must have hurt a lot.” Gaara remained silent, not knowing what to say, but he could feel his face becoming flushed. Yukari took off her hand from his forehead after what felt like a forever, and leaned back, beaming.

“It’s not painful anymore, right?” She asked gently, looking him right in the eyes. Her expression somehow gave a lot of warmness to Gaara, and made him feel at ease.

“Yeah,” he told her in a soft voice. Yukari’s smile widened and her eyes squinted, as if smiling as well. “I’ll grab some tea.” She stood up to walk back to where Kei and the other Sand Siblings were. Before she took a few more steps, Gaara found himself calling out to her.

“Yuka,” he said. Yukari stopped in her tracks and turned to him. Gaara stared at her for a while, hesitating and unsure of what to say. He shook his head and closed his eyes, wondering what the heck he was trying to say.

“Nothing,” Gaara told her. Yukari seemed puzzled, but thought nothing of it, smiling at him and continued to walk back to the group. Gaara stared after her, with a lot of thoughts running through his mind. He sighed, turning back to the water to compose himself.


	13. Fight!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang had to get into action to eliminate threats before they could come to the surface.

After their break, the group continued to the last section with the tunnels that needed to be cleared. Upon nearing the area which was close to the surface above, Yukari noticed the ground was slightly damp, as if the soil had absorbed some water. Kei and Makoto started to notice as well when they felt the surface of the ground they were stepping on becoming softer.

“Was it raining yesterday when you fell down?” Yukari turned to the Sand siblings and asked.

“Not really,” Temari answered. Gaara on the other hand realized something.

“It did seem like it was going to rain before. There was a lot of storm clouds in the sky,” he told them what he remembered. Yukari turned to Kei and Makoto.

“Maybe that’s why there’s so much damage. With what happened yesterday with them as well as the rain,” Kei theorized.

“I suppose so,” Yukari agreed.

“Hey, it’s not daytime anymore, right?” Makoto nervously asked, fidgeting.

“At least I’m not afraid of a little sunlight,” Kankuro joked with a snarky tone to his voice. Makoto glared at him, feeling annoyed but eventually, she smiled with a menacing look in her eyes, showing her sharp teeth.

“You’re right, you should be more afraid of me,” Makoto said with a dark look in her eyes. Kankuro decided to just stop making fun of her and not push any buttones.

Not long after, they arrived to another obstruction in the tunnel, where large rocks and dirt had covered the entirety of the passage, preventing them to see anything on the other side. Yukari turned to Gaara.

“Your drop off point should be up ahead. After that, there’s only two more tunnels left,” she told him. “Let’s clear this off first.”

Gaara nodded and lifted his hands up towards the rocks and dirt blocking the tunnel. As usual, the blockade started to vibrate as the biggest rock in the blockade was being turned into sand. Just as soon as the rock had disintegrated, suddenly a big monstrous insect-like head popped out and hissed at them.

Everyone jumped back in shock, bracing themselves in a fighting stance. Temari quickly took her fan and blasted the insect away. Yukari held her hand out to her, wanting her to stop from any further action in case the tunnel collapsed again. She suddenly lifted her own hands with two fingers pointed, as small balls of light appeared at the tips and she waved her arms in circular motion once, pointing her fingers and shooting them through the hole.

The light illuminated the area as it passed through and it showed movements from many more giant insect creatures all over the walls. It hit a solid surfacel and released a blinding bright light which showed the entire area filled with the giant insects. Fortunately, they were still dormant and didn’t seem to want to attack them just yet Yukari and the others stared up ahead, thinking heavily on what to do.

“Were these the bugs you encountered yesterday?” Kei asked, preparing as he took out his weapon and attached the wires to his wrist with the holes attached to it.

“Yes,” Gaara answered. “There were a lot of them in the valley we passed through.”

“Our tunnel routes avoid that valley because of that,” Yukari stated, as she pulled out and unsheathed her sword, and it proceeded to glow with chakra. “These things do get in the tunnel once in a while, but not in this number.”

“So, Yuka?” Makoto turned to her, with her kunai in hand, ready to retaliate and attack. Yukari looked at her and then turned to Kei, nodding and feeling determined.

“Wait, what are you guys going to do?” Kankuro interrupted before they made a move.

“We’re going to kill them,” Yukari stated bluntly, to the Sand Siblings’ surprise. “Gaara and Temari, don’t go overboard with your sand and wind. We don’t really want any more accidents. Kankuro…” She stared at him wide-eyed, not knowing what to say. “Just… do what you want,” she hesitantly said.

“I can help, you know,” Kankuro took out a scroll and summoned a puppet of his. The Light Villagers looked surprised at the sight of an ugly, dangerous-looking puppet suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

“You’re a freak, face paint,” Makoto told him cynically, but then smirked. “I like that,” she added as she licked the kunai blade.

“Alright,” Yukari announced. “Gaara, clear the way.”

Gaara used his Sand ability to disintegrate the rocks and debris that was blocking the path. As they became as fine as sand, he moved them, forming daggers and pushed them outwards towards the bugs. The insects suddenly paid attention to them and flapped their wings and hissed, ready to attack.

Yukari wasted no time and ran towards them, glowing sword in hand as she swung it and started slashing the insects’ bodies as they jumped towards her. Makoto and Kei followed suit, with Makoto stabbing the bugs’ bodies with her saliva covered kunai, while Kei shot chakra infused pellets from his weapon and reloading the pellets into a section of his weapon, walking forward slowly as he shot the insects.

The Sand Siblings followed, as Gaara got on some sand and flew around, attacking with small amounts of sand at a time, Temari using minimal wind attack to blow away insects that were jumping towards her and Kankuro helped a lot with his puppet which projected many attacks from its body, like flames and weapons flying out and hitting and killing the insects. Makoto stopped and observed Kankuro’s puppet in action.

“How much for that crazy-looking puppet, man? That thing is awesome!” She called out to him.

“It’s not for sale, weirdo,” he bluntly replied.

After a while, most of the insects were killed, with the remaining ones scurrying away to the surface. Everyone was tired, but they weren’t completely out of energy. They looked around to see the remains of the insects everywhere in the area, from their limbs to their insides and their shells and even bits of their wings. Kankuro crouched down and picked up a piece with the look of disgust on his face, throwing it away a moment later. After making sure the threats were gone, Yukari walked up to Gaara.

“We can go ahead and clear the last two tunnels up ahead,” she said to him. Gaara nodded.

They immediately went ahead to clear the last two routes, which didn’t take long. As soon as they checked to make sure that the tunnels were completely cleared of all obstructions, all of them breathed a sigh of relief and took a short rest.

“Well, glad that’s over with,” Makoto exhaled as she sat on the ground.

“My siblings did all the work. What are you looking so tired for?” Kankuro remarked, feeling annoyed.

“Enough, Kankuro,” Gaara cut before they bickered again.

“We should get going,” Yukari said as they prepared to leave the tunnels towards the cavern area where the opening was. They walked over to a spot just below the hole where Gaara and his siblings fell in, looking up.

“What about this mess?” Temari asked, turning around and looking at the mess of the insects’ carnage.

“We’ll clean that up later. Don’t worry about it,” Kei answered.

“I think you can take us up, and then we’ll show you the way to the nearest point in your map that you recognize,” Yukari told them. Gaara changed the ground below them into sand and made a platform to lift them all up. The Light Villagers look down in awe as they were elevated.

“Beats going through the tunnels, huh?” Kankuro remarked cockily.

The Light Villagers didn’t respond but still stared down at the ground below them with impressed faces. As they arrived at the top, they all jumped off the sand platforms, with Gaara being the last one to get off. He whisked the sand away downwards to the hole. Yukari turned to Gaara, with a tired but still determined look.

“Ready to-”

Before Yukari could finish her sentence, there was a rumbling that was coming from underneath them. On Yukari’s face was just a look of panic as she looked down the hole they came out from. All of them did the same as the vibration became stronger and stronger. They started to feel terrified and curious at the same time.

Then, something came out from underneath the ground. The first thing they saw were huge pincers, and then they saw a clump of eyes staring at them. Slowly a huge, reddish long insect-like creature emerged, with probably a thousand legs in pair on each side of its body, with an armoured shell throughout its body filling up the space in the hole as it looked around. What stood out was the fire emitting from its mouth and lava trickling from its body. It was chewing on one of the insects and consumed it.

“What the hell is that?!” Kankuro exclaimed with panic in his voice.

“I… I don’t know,” Yukari fumbled, as if she had never seen this thing.

“It must have woken up from all the fighting we did just now,” Makoto remarked.

“Still doesn’t answer the question of WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?” Kankuro repeated more frantically.

“Look, whatever it is, we have to kill it,” Kei interrupted. He turned to Yukari, and spoke with a lower voice. “Otherwise, the village will be in danger.”

Yukari stared back at him, feeling a lot of conflict and contemplation. But without hesitating any further, she walked away from the hole, causing the others to stare after her in confusion. She came to a stop and in one swift moment, Yukari turned back towards them and sprinted. There was suddenly a bright light glowing brighter and brighter, blinding everyone and causing them to close and shield their eyes.

When everyone managed to open their eyes a moment later after the light died down, Gaara was baffled to see that there was suddenly a large, glowing bird, with an ethereal look and seemingly made of chakra energy appearing before them and diving down the hole. It started attacking the giant centipede by diving and trying to stab the body with its sharp beak. The shell of the body was too tough however, as the bird dodged the centipede’s attacks, swerving around and kept pecking with its beak and clawing with its feet.

“What about THAT?” Kankuro yelled as he looked over to Makoto and Kei, who didn’t look surprised and stared at the bird with tense expressions. No one said a thing for a good few seconds, until Kei spoke out.

“That’s the Guardian,” he said, making everyone feel shocked and became silent for for a moment.

“That’s Yukari?” Temari muttered.

Before anyone could continue the conversation, Yukari the bird flew out of the hole, with the giant centipede approaching the hole. Everyone else took off and run away to keep their distance. The creature emerged from underneath, shaking the ground and destroying the edge of the hole, making it bigger than before. It crawled out and fully emerged on surface. Everyone prepared to defend themselves, taking out their weapons and in their fighting stances

“What is she doing?” Gaara asked, puzzled.

“She’s trying to move it away from the village. But we have to find a way to kill it,” Kei answered with a loud voice as the centipede was creating too much noise.

Yukari did the same thing as before as she attacked it with all she could as a Guardian bird. She managed to do some damage to the eyes, but that was about it. Makoto was staring intently at the body of the creature.

“The armour’s too tough. Does anyone have a way to break it?” Makoto turned to them. The Sand Siblings looked at each other. Suddenly Temari had an idea.

“Gaara,” she called out to her little brother, who immediately knew what to do.

He created a sand platform to fly on and got closer to the centipede. As he was going closer, Yukari as the Guardian flew past him, enabling him to take a look at her. Her bird form looked like a large falcon, with glowing bluish white eyes blankly staring back at him, looking quite intimidating. He didn’t see a trace of Yukari’s physical presence, but he felt her chakra, quite a heavy, dense amount of it too, emitting throughout her body.

Gaaras lifted his hands up, activating his Sand ability. He transformed the entire rocky terrain around the centipede into sand, and moved it all over its body, wrapping it up entirely. Once that was done, Gaara tensed up and tightened his palm.

“Sand Coffin!” The sand tightened around its armour, causing it to crack little by little.

“Sand Funeral!” In one more movement, Gaara closed his fist and the armour broke apart completely.

The sand slowly separated from the centipede, its inner body exposed without its armour. As soon as it happened, Yukari opened her beak and shot a powerful energy blast towards the centipede. The sight left Gaara and his siblings in shock.

The centipede let out a loud sound when it was hit, like a roar as it was waving about, its body suddenly spilling out lava from the cut on its body. It pulsated, the skin holding back something inside from coming out.

“Gaara, it’s going to explode!” Temari yelled out. Gaara took notice of what she said and recreated the Sand Coffin to cover the creature’s body and started lifting it up to the sky to avoid it causing more damage to the ground.

“Get back!” Gaara alerted them as he moved some sand to act as a shield for the people on the ground.

He turned back to the sand coffin that was holding back the energy of the blast. He continued to lift it up as far as he could. A few seconds later, the sand couldn’t keep in the energy inside no longer and it burst out from the sand encasing it.

Gaara couldn’t move away in time as the damage from the explosion was heading towards him. He squinted his eyes, thinking that his fate was sealed. But just as he was about to fully close his eyes and shield his face with his arms, Yukari came flying from below.

The moment felt as if time had slowed down. Gaara widened his eyes at the sight of Yukari in front of him as she got closer to him. Her large wings wrapped around him, as if protecting him from the blast. Before she took him in, he took a good look at her blank, glowing eyes before she fully took him and wrapped her wings around him.

And then just like that, everything went by fast. The sand with the centipede in it exploded, causing both Yukari and Gaara to get thrown off by the impact. Thanks to Yukari who shielded Gaara from the blast, he wasn’t damaged at all by any of the explosion’s debris. Just as they hit the ground, a bright light appeared and Yukari transformed back into a human. They rolled around with each other until they came to a stop, with Gaara top of Yukari who was lying down on her back.

After a few seconds, Gaara gained his consciousness, opening his eyes slowly. He took a moment to gain his energy and pushed himself against the ground and off of Yukari, sitting himself on the ground next to her. His rubbed his head in pain, closing his eyes tightly.

Gradually, he realized what had just happened and jerked back in shock, turning to Yukari who was still unconscious on the ground. Her head was turned away from him, so he grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. She was still out, and bruised all over. Gaara felt his heart drop, feeling panic rushing in. He leaned in and grabbed her arm, shaking her.

“Yuka… Oi… Wake up,” Gaara pleaded, continuing to shake her, but Yukari wasn’t waking up. “Yuka, please,” he muttered in a whisper, feeling guilt and deflated at the same time. He shook her harder, almost on the verge of giving up. He was desperate to see her awake, fearing that she was hurt, or worse, because of him.

At that moment, Yukari’s eyes opened immediately and she gasped. Gaara moved back in surprise to process what had just happened, but immediately felt relief afterwards. Yuka got up slowly and sat up, while groaning in pain.

“Ow… what happened?” Yukari asked, as she opened her eyes and looked at Gaara, feeling confused.

He didn’t respond and just looked at her with wide eyes for a good few seconds. Without thinking, he leaned in towards her, opening his arms out and wrapping Yukari in a hug. She was genuinely surprised and confused at his actions, wondering why he was behaving like this.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” Gaara muttered in a low voice, still holding her in an embrace. Yukari glanced at him at the side, taking some time to let it all sink in. She smiled warmly, closing her eyes and returned the hug by wrapping her arms around him as well.

“Me too,” she replied.

After a few seconds, they both let go and stared at each other. The others came running towards them soon after that, looking concerned, worried and relieved all at the same time. Kei and Makoto crouched down by Yukari’s side while Temari and Kankuro approached their brother at his, examining him.

“Gaara, are you alright?” Kankuro and Temari simultaneously asked as concerned older siblings.

“Yuka, are you hurt?” Kei asked

“Don’t do that again!” Makoto smacked Yukari’s head lightly and yelled at her, almost angrily, but Yukari didn’t get upset and just accepted it understandingly.

“I’m fine, thanks to Yuka,” Gaara let out an exhaled and said to his older siblings, looking at Yukari. Temari and Kankuro both turned to Yukari, who still seemed clueless as to what had just happened.

“Thank you,” Temari said sincerely with a thankful expression on her face. Yukari felt taken aback from her reaction, but she simply smiled and nodded in return.


	14. The Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their battle, there was some post conversation about what the Guardian is.

The Light Villagers were escorting the Sand Siblings back to the familiar drop off point. According to Kankuro’s map, the place was about twenty minutes’ walk from where they came out of. It had been a quiet walk so far. Gaara and Yukari were walking side by side as usual at the front while the rest were following behind in one group.

“You haven’t told me what the Guardian is exactly,” Temari asked Kei as they were walking. Kankuro and Makoto also looked over, listening to what she had to say.

“You saw for yourself,” Kei answered briefly, not even taking his eyes off the road ahead. Temari was unsatisfied and wanted to push further.

“Her entire body was made of chakra that was radiating a high amount of energy. That kind of power is too strong and possibly dangerous to be kept underground,” she told him.

“That’s exactly why it should be,” Kei responded swiftly. “As it has been for a hundred years. A lot of people would be going after that kind of power on the surface. Keeping it underground is the best way to prevent anyone from trying to steal it.”

“And you think it is fine to make a child hold this kind of power?” She argued, feeling a little tense, but she tried her best to keep calm. Kei glared, provoked by the confrontation he was receiving.

“I know it’s not right!” he raised his voice but kept the volume low enough so the kids in front did not hear. He sighed, feeling a heavy weight on his shoulders. “Maybe it was fate, or maybe it’s just a mistake. But once a person receive that power, their fate is sealed… I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it is what it is,” Kei shared his thoughts, feeling the burden being lifted. He sighed, with a sad look in his eyes. “I would never do that to my daughters. And I still don’t know why it had to happen to Yukari,” Hearing that answer made Temari turn quiet, even feeling slight regret for bringing it up.

“Which is why I have to be by her side. So she won’t be alone,” Kei continued and then looked at Makoto. “And as annoying as she is, I’m glad Makoto’s there for her too.” Upon hearing this, Makoto stared at Kei, as if wanting to say something, but she closed her eyes and shrugged.

“You know how that feels, don’t you?” Kei asked Temari, and then glanced at Gaara in front. Temari followed his eye direction and realized a lot of things as her gaze fell on his brother. Memories flashed in her mind of her and her siblings’ childhoods. She sighed, dropping the subject and accepting his explanation.

Meanwhile, Gaara and Yukari were still quiet with each other as they were walking side by side. Gaara was feeling more uncomfortable with the silence but Yukari was just lost in her thoughts, thinking nothing of it. He glanced at her and noticed that she seemed distracted by her own mind. Her skin had some minor bruises, her clothes and hair were dishevelled as well. Gaara frowned, feeling concerned and guilt over what happened earlier.

“Yuka,” Gaara called out to her. Yukari slowly looked up, with a blank expression on her face, still not completely focused. “Are you alright?” Upon hearing Gaara’s concern for her, Yukari snapped out of it and shook off the feeling. 

“Yeah,” Yukari nodded with a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry.”

“You seemed tired,” Gaara said, still worried about her. Yukari wondered what he was talking about, but then she felt her body did feel some pain and exhaustion. She sighed exhaustingly.

“I’ll be fine,” Yukari replied, looking away with a sad, tired look.

“Was it because of what happened just now?” Gaara asked hesitantly, referring to Yukari’s transformation. She didn’t answer for a good few seconds and kept silent, but eventually, she let it out.

“You told me about your experience being this tailed beast. It must be hard to share that with someone you barely know,” Yukari said slowly, still keeping her gaze in front. Gaara kept silent, not knowing how to respond to that.

“I don’t know much about what this power is, even till now. I know that every person who has it shows a different form. The one before me was an elephant. That would have been interesting to see,” Yukari smiled in humour. Seeing her talk about it lightly made him smile as well. But Yukari’s smile dropped, as she stared down, thinking about something.

“The former Guardian dies after passing on their powers. And Guardians can never live a long life. When their time is coming… they’ll know,” Yukari said in a low, ominous voice.

“But… how long… have you…” Gaara asked but couldn’t finish. He felt his heart drop, like he was hearing a bad news.

“Since I was a baby,” Yukari told him. “I don’t know how I’ve made it this far either,” Yukari attempted to joke, but the mood quickly dissolved when she saw how distressed Gaara looked. Somehow, she was touched that he cared.

“I haven’t ‘seen’ it come to me yet. Maybe it won’t for a long time,” Yukari felt as if she rambled on, so she stopped talking.

“I hope so,” Gaara’s short response made her turn to him and try to read his expression. He seemed sincere and even had on a small smile. She could only return his smile, feeling comforted by his words.


	15. Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sand and Light Villagers bid farewell to each other, with promise of a reunion in the future.

They finally arrived at the drop off point, where the Sand Siblings should be able to check their location with their map. Kei looked over Kankuro’s map and studied it for a short moment. Afterwards, he showed the map to the Sand Siblings and pointed to a spot on the drawn part.

“We’re here right now. If you walk down south through the forest along this path here, you should be able to get back to this route and then take a left. It’ll take you directly to a road that will lead straight to your village,” Kei explained as his finger moved along the map. Kankuro looked at it momentarily to process his instructions and nodded. He rolled the map and put it away in his satchel.

“Thanks,” Kankuro nodded. He reached his hand out, prompting Kei to take it and they shook hands. “If you guys need to reach out, just send a letter to the Sand Village directly to the Kazekage’s office.”

“We do have to maintain the privacy of this place for reasons that I’ve mentioned, but of course. I’m sure Yuka would love to write those letters,” Kei said as he looked over to Yukari who was distracted.

“Say hi to your kids for me. If they ever want to try flying, come by to the Sand Village,” Temari light-heartedly suggested to Kei.

“Sure, they’d love that,” Kei nodded with a smile.

“Can we get moving already? The sun’s going to rise soon,” Makoto said loudly with a yawn.

“Makoto,” Kei said her name with a sharp tone and a glare. “Manners.”

“Joking, Kei,” Makoto replied with a sheepish grin and a shrug. She slapped Kankuro on the arm playfully. “Up your drinking game, the next time we meet.”

“Oh, sure, I’ll go drink with you again,” Kankuro said sarcastically and with an unamused look on his face. Deep inside, there was something about Makoto’s presence that he enjoyed, but he’d rather die than admit it. Makoto proceeded to ignore him and address Temari and Gaara.

“Don’t die on your way back. If you do, I’ll be laughing all the way from the village,” Makoto told them with a cheeky smirk.

“Uhh… thanks?” Temari hesitantly replied, but she knew Makoto was just saying it sincerely, just in her own way. She couldn’t help but crack a smile of her own.

“Yeah, stay safe out there,” Kei replied.

“We will,” Temari nodded. “And thanks for all your help.”

The older bunch of the group looked over to the younger ones, their leaders who were silent this whole time. They were actually just listening to their older members just talking to each other but didn’t manage to get a word in at all. Temari, Kankuro, Kei and Makoto all exchanged looks while Yukari and Gaara were puzzled with their behaviours. Makoto decided to break the awkward silence and cleared her throat.

“Ahem, why don’t we just leave these kids alone to talk privately while the adults go somewhere else for a second,” Makoto suggested, glancing at Yukari with a sly look. The rest exchanged looks with each other before shrugging and nodding in agreement. They started to walk away. Yukari looked alarmed, as she suddenly realized what Makoto was trying to do.

“Makoto! I- What are you even-” She called Makoto out, but couldn’t really find the words to argue with her. Makoto winked at her and even sneakily showed a thumbs up.

Gaara stared at them as they walked away, feeling a little panic inside him as well. Though over what, he didn’t know. After a few seconds, Yukari and Gaara took their eyes off of their team members and glanced at each other. For some reason, they suddenly started to feel shy and embarrassed even though they had spent some time together alone before. Almost ten seconds passed before the silence was broken.

“Like… your brother said, I’ll write a letter to you soon and every once in a while if I can,” Yukari said, shifting her eyes down to the ground. She almost wanted to slap herself for suddenly having these feelings around Gaara.

“Please do,” Gaara replied. He looked down momentarily, feeling hesitant to say what was on his mind. “Come by sometimes. I’ll take you around,” he suggested shyly. Yukari turned to him with a sad look on her face.

“With my responsibility for this village, I don’t think I can be away for too long,” she replied solemnly. She noticed Gaara’s expression dropping. “But… if I ever get any vacation time, it’ll be the first place on my list,” she said, half-jokingly and half-sincerely. Hearing that answer made Gaara feel a little better, and he, in return, managed to smile as well.

Another silence started to hang in the air as they looked at each other awkwardly, wondering what else they should say. Of course, there were a lot of things, they just couldn’t formulate them well enough into a proper sentence. In the end, Yukari spoke out again, smiling widely with her mouth and her eyes.

“Take care, Gaara. Stay safe on your way back,” she told him warmly.

“Yeah,” he said.

He caught the sight of Yukari’s white hair not pinned and tucked away like it usually was. He leaned in closer and impulsively reached out his hand and gently moved it behind her ear. Yukari tensed up in surprise, holding her breath, keeping her eyes on him the entire time. Gaara moved his hand away and gazed at her with a gentle look in his eyes.

“Yuka,” he muttered her name. “Thank you.” Yukari took the time to process why he said that, and smiled as she remembered. She lifted her hand up and placed it gently on his cheek.

“Gaara,” she returned the gesture by saying his name. “I hope we’ll meet again someday.” Gaara let the words sank in and held her hand that was on his cheek, leaning in closer and putting his forehead against hers tenderly.

“Me too.”

…

The Sand Siblings were on their way back to their village, walking down the path that was shown to them on the map by Kei. The sun was just starting to rise in the distance, as the sky was slowly illuminated by the light and everything started to come into visibility. Kankuro looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when everything looked familiar once more.

“Shouldn’t take long to go back now. Like a day’s journey probably,” he remarked.

“Man, maybe we should have just taken the offer to sleep in for another day,” Temari said as she stretched her arms out, yawning sleepily.

“We’re meant to report back soon and I don’t want to risk the privacy of their village from being breached any further, in case anyone came looking for us. We can stop by a village on the way,” Gaara stated, maintaining his gaze in front on the road.

“It’s funny,” Kankuro said. “I guess there’s still a lot of places we don’t know about. Would have been nice to have them join in the war if we had the chance to find new allies.”

“Not everyone wants to participate, Kankuro,” Temari responded. “And they have good reasons to do so.”

“Still,” Kankuro cut in. “That Guardian’s power is something else. And we probably haven’t even seen most of it. Can you imagine?”

“Maybe it’s a good thing that it’s being kept hidden from everybody else,” Gaara replied. “Greed for power changes people. And not in a good way.” When Gaara said that, Kankuro immediately felt a slight hint of shame and looked away.

“And you think you can trust THEM to hold that kind of power?” Temari asked, genuinely curious about what his brother thought. Gaara saw flashes of Yukari as the Guardian protecting him during the blast in his mind. He smiled with a knowing look.

“They’ve proven themselves,” he simply stated. Temari nodded in agreement, but then had on a mischievous look.

“You really like her, huh?” She joked, slyly looking over to Kankuro, who couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Wh- What?” Gaara said in a higher voice, feeling flustered. “I… She saved me. Can’t I just… return the favour?”

“You mean, return her feelings?” Kankuro whispered to Temari who really wanted to crack from amusement at this point. Gaara wasn’t amused and glared at them, feeling his face heating up.

“O- Oi!”

“Come on little brother. It’s normal to have crushes on girls for a boy your age.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!?”

“Sure you don’t.”

“I mean it!”

“Whatever you say.”

“Ugh, so annoying!”

**END.**


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